LAWRENCE  J.  GUTTER 

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THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   ILLINOIS 
AT  CHICAGO 

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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  AT  CHICAGO 


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Some  Rf^<-nl lections 

1 

i 

\\  Fiirwell 

t 

I 

R. 

. 

John  V.  Farwell 

AT    80  YEARS    OF  AGE 


Some  Recollections 

of 

John  V.  Farwell 


A  Brief  Description  of  His 

Early  Life  and  Business 

Reminiscences 


¥ 


Chicago 

R.  R.  Donnelley  &  Sons  Company 

1911 


G^-^.'^"^"^ 


|^t;eface 


SOME  years  before  John  V.  Farwell  died 
he  took  great  pleasure  in  using  spare 
moments  to  write  out  for  his  children 
some  reminiscences  of  his  early  life  in  Illinois. 
Such  accounts  of  early  conditions,  which  are 
in  great  contrast  with  those  of  any  succeed- 
ing period,  become  more  interesting  as  each 
decade  passes  by. 

With  that  idea  in  mind,  and  knowing  that 
his  grandchildren  and  those  who  come  after 
them  would  especially  appreciate  some  perma- 
nent record  of  these  events,  we,  his  children, 
have  arranged  these  papers,  letters,  and  manu- 
scripts, not  for  any  general  circulation,  but 
simply  for  the  immediate  family. 

The  reminiscences,  being  written  with  no 
direct  purpose  of  publication,  contain  many 
personal  references  and  unimportant  details 
which  would  be  of  no  great  interest  except  to 
those  who  feel  the  tie  of  loving  relationship. 

Nothing  is  more  full  of  romance  than  the 
lives  of  the  pioneers  of  the  east  or  the  west, 
the  strong  characters  who  with  untiring  vital- 
ity, courage,  mental  capacity,  and  moral  force 
made  a  city  out  of  a  sandy  waste,  and  wrung 
prosperity  for  themselves  and  their  fellows  out 
of  most  adverse  and  trying  conditions. 

5 


preface 


We  believe  the  descendants  of  our  father 
would  like  to  feel  in  some  personal  touch  with 
this  romance,  and  to  get  a  slight  idea  of  the 
important  part  played  by  their  ancestor  in 
helping  to  give  to  Chicago  that  firm  founda- 
tion and  wonderful  impetus  which  has  made 
her  and  will  continue  to  make  her  one  of  the 
great  cities  of  the  world. 

In  loving  memory  of  our  father,  and  speaking 
for  all  his  children,  I  write  this  short  preface, 
to  indicate  the  character  of  this  narrative  and 
the  purpose  in  printing  it. 

John  V.  Farwell,  Jr. 


^ome  JSecDUectfotT0  of 
3Ioi^n  t^.  famtll 


EARLY  LIFE 

IN  1838,  when  I  was  thirteen  years  of  age, 
my  father  concluded  to  leave  Big  Flats, 
New  York,  for  a  farm  of  his  own  in 
Ogle  County,  Illinois,  and  started  there  on  a 
"prairie  schooner."  The  first  day's  journey 
brought  us  to  an  uncle's  residence.  The  next 
day  was  the  Fourth  of  July,  which  was  cele- 
brated with  a  flag  floating  from  the  canvas  of 
our  land  schooner,  and  every  boy  had  a  Wash- 
ington military  cocked  hat — the  handiwork 
of  our  mother — made  from  the  raw  material 
of  a  newspaper,  which  attracted  the  attention 
of  everybody  on  the  road.  Our  poHceman 
was  a  large  spaniel  dog,  named  "Sport,"  who 
had  his  decoration  of  stars  and  stripes  also. 
He  was  made  for  business,  however,  as  well 
as  sport,  as  Mras  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
whenever  in  his  presence  a  big  dog  tackled 
a  little  one,  it  was  his  invariable  police  regula- 
tion to  v^hip  the  big  dog,  and  then  proceed  on 
his  journey  as  though  nothing  had  happened. 
How  many  little  dogs  were  indebted  to  him 
for  protection,  from  New  York  to  Illinois, 
I  did  not  keep  count,  but  the  scene  was 
7 


^ome  MtttAltttitm$  of 


enacted  nearly  every  day,  to  remind  us  that 
some  dogs  are  more  benevolent  than  some 
men  in  their  care  of  the  needy.  It  reminded 
me  of  a  jocular  friend  who  once  said:  "The 
more  I  know  of  dogs  the  less  I  think  of  men, 
and  the  more  I  know  of  men  the  more  I 
think  of  dogs." 

The  third  day  out,  at  dinner  in  our  schoon- 
er, an  iron-bound,  hair-covered  trunk  was 
placed  on  the  hind  wheel  to  get  it  out  of  the 
way  of  the  preparations.  By  some  mishap  it 
fell  off  the  wheel,  and  landed  its  iron-bound 
corner  on  one  of  my  bare  feet,  near  the  toes. 
An  undergraduate  of  a  quack  advised  holding 
it  under  a  stream  of  cold  spring  water,  which 
coagulated  the  blood  into  a  bunch  as  big  as 
a  hen's  egg,  about  as  quick  as  a  smart  hen 
could  lay  it,  and  made  an  invalid  of  me  for 
three  months. 

We  took  a  steamer  at  Buffalo  for  Detroit, 
and  the  next  day  after  landing  came  to  an- 
other uncle's,  near  there,  for  a  few  days*  rest. 
When  we  started  again  the  woods  were  full 
of  tall  bush  huckleberries,  which  were  so  at- 
tractive as,  notwithstanding  my  lameness,  to 
make  me  anxious  for  a  full  meal  of  them. 
This  excursion,  together  with  the  effort  to 
overtake  the  schooner,  was  too  much  for  my 
lame  foot,  and  put  me  back  for  several  days. 
Before  reaching  Illinois  I  had  contracted  fever 
and  ague,  but,  thanks  to  a  better  doctor  than 
my  foot  physician,  a  very  bitter  dose  of  some 
8 


S^olm  15.  f  artoeii 


herb  medicine  relieved  me  of  that  miniature 
physical  earthquake. 

Chicago  was  our  next  objective  point,  and 
it  was  truly  "a  one-horse  mud  town,"  and  it 
did  not  lose  that  cognomen,  applied  to  it  by 
competitive  western  cities,  until  it  had  far 
outstripped  them  all  in  the  race  for  pre- 
eminence. 

A  most  vivid  recollection  of  Illinois  is  that 
drawn  from  a  "prairie  schooner,"  containing 
the  Farwell  family,  July,  1838,  bound  for 
Rock  River.  Old  Fort  Dearborn — erected  to 
fight  Indians — was  then  one  of  Chicago's 
notable  structures.  The  rest  were  mostly  one 
and  two  story  wood  buildings.  There  was  a 
population  of  about  2,000. 

The  journey  to  Rock  River  was  over  wild 
prairies,  with  here  and  there  a  stopping  place 
for  travelers  at  small  groves  of  timber,  of 
which  there  were  very  few;  so  that  it  became 
a  common  saying,  when  no  timber  was  in 
sight,  that  we  were  "out  of  sight  of  land." 
Arriving  at  our  destination,  the  twenty-foot- 
square  log  house,  instead  of  being  prepared 
for  our  reception,  was  filled  with  garden 
truck,  and  our  moving  "prairie  schooner" 
tabernacle  had  still  to  do  duty  as  our  habi- 
tation until  the  house  was  cleaned  out  and 
renovated. 

The  next  vivid  picture  upon  the  canvas  of 
my  memory  is  composed  of  two  families  in 
our  log  house — fourteen  in  number — all  but 


^ome  iHecoIlection^  of 


my  mother  and  the  baby  sick  with  chills  and 
fever,  and  the  doctor  sitting  on  a  trunk  in  the 
center  dealing  out  medicine.  Father  was  com- 
pletely overcome  with  this  dismal  picture  and 
proposed  to  mother  to  go  back  to  our  old 
home  in  New  York  State  as  soon  as  we  were 
well  enough.  Mother  rephed:  **We  have  come 
here  to  make  a  home  for  ourselves  and  our 
children,  and,  God  helping  us,  we  will  stay  and 
accomplish  our  purpose." 

This  settled  it,  and  father  said  to  the  doctor: 
"All  these  depend  on  me  for  support,  and  you 
must  cure  me  at  once  for  that  purpose." 
The  necessity  of  the  situation  opened  the  way 
for  the  doctor  and  Providence  to  effect  his 
cure,  and  only  one  of  the  fourteen  found  a 
grave  before  a  new  commodious  log  house  was 
finished,  so  that  each  family  had  a  roof  of  its 
own.  In  the  mean  time  some  of  us  were  real 
shakers,  for  the  fever  and  ague  did  not  leave  us 
for  months.  To  see  us  shake  with  the  chills 
was  a  moving  picture  not  to  be  produced  in 
any  other  way. 

In  such  a  wild  country,  with  scattered  groves 
for  hiding  places  and  trackless  prairies  between, 
horse  thieves  found  a  paradise  for  their  theater 
of  operations,  and  improved  it  so  energetically 
that  to  own  a  good  horse  was  to  invite  their 
visits,  until  it  became  necessary  to  organize 
a  vigilance  committee  to  clear  the  country  of 
this  human  pest.  The  honest  farmers  were  no 
sooner  organized  and  ready  for  work  than  the 


S^oljn  15.  fattoell 


chairman  of  that  committee  was  called  to  the 
door  of  his  house  in  the  night  and  shot  dead. 

The  next  day  the  country  was  alive  with 
excitement  and  the  committee  was  full  of 
deadly  determination  to  attend  to  its  special 
business.  All  the  members  of  a  family,  one 
of  whom  had  done  the  shooting,  were  arrested 
in  the  night  and  brought  within  a  mile  and 
a  half  of  my  father's  house  for  trial  and 
execution.  It  being  the  Saturday  before  a 
Methodist  quarterly  meeting,  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood was  gathered  at  the  school  house. 

Soon  a  rider  was  observed  coming  toward 
the  school  house  at  a  rapid  pace,  and,  on  reach- 
ing it,  he  besought  the  people  to  come  and 
rescue  the  Driscolls,  for  the  vigilance  commit- 
tee were  about  to  shoot  them.  Before  he  had 
finished  his  graphic  appeal  the  crack  of  thirty 
rifles  was  heard,  and  that  gang  of  thieves  was 
four  less  in  number.  Six  of  the  thirty  rifles  had 
bullets  in  them  and  the  rest  had  blank  car- 
tridges, so  that  no  one  of  the  thirty  men  knew 
positively  that  he  had  made  one  of  the  six  bul- 
let holes  that  were  found  in  the  dead  men. 

The  news  of  this  deed  spread  like  a  prairie 
fire,  and  the  thieves,  owning  the  best  horses  in 
the  country,  made  good  their  escape.  Thus, 
horse  steahng  became  a  thing  of  the  past. 
Attempts  had  been  made  in  the  courts  to 
convict  those  found  with  stolen  horses,  but 
in  every  case  they  could  command  a  dozen 
witnesses  to  prove  that  they  had  innocently 


^ome  ilecoitetion^  of 


bought  their  horses  of  so-and-so;  therefore, 
they  went  clear.  Now,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  arraign  the  vigilance  committee  for  murder, 
but  the  courts  would  not  listen,  no  doubt 
on  the  basis  that  lynch  law  was  the  only 
unwritten  statute  available  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency of  the  times,  when  the  frontier  was 
filled  with  fugitives  from  justice  from  the 
older  states,  seeking  a  place  where  law  had 
little  terror  for  them,  until  Judge  Lynch  put 
an  effectual  veto  on  their  lawlessness. 


In  the  winter  of  1838-39  Indians,  moving 
out  of  Illinois  into  Iowa,  camped  near  our 
home.  They  got  some  whiskey,  instead  of 
gospel,  from  some  of  these  frontier  human 
fiends,  and  two  were  killed  in  a  drunken  brawl. 
I  visited  their  camp  and  for  the  first  time  saw 
the  Indians  who  once  populated  all  ^orth 
America.  They  had  caught  some  muskrats 
and  I  saw  them  cook  and  eat  those  animals. 
They  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground,  put  in  it  a  raw 
skin  of  some  kind,  filled  it  with  water,  then 
heated  some  stones  red-hot  and  put  them  in  the 
water  with  the  muskrats,  whole,  making  it  boil 
until  they  were  cooked.  Then  the  Indians  ate 
them,  entrails  and  all,  with  an  appetite  that 
proved  that  "the  survival  of  the  fittest"  had 
made  them  competent  to  feed  on  such  a  diet. 

At  that  time  there  were  only  a  few  miles  of 
railroad  out  of  Albany  westward  and  only  six 
miles  of  railroad  out  of  Detroit,  and  none  in 


S^Dftn  B.  f  artodi 


Illinois.  Now  the  whole  United  States  is 
gridironed  with  railroads.  Indians  are  few  in 
number  and  we  are  the  most  honored  nation 
on  earth.  If  my  father  had  bought  a  half 
section  of  land  near  the  lake,  two  miles  south 
of  Chicago  River,  for  a  farm,  as  he  might 
have  done,  instead  of  a  squatter's  claim  on 
Rock  River,  and  held  on  to  it  for  daily  bread 
through  the  sweat  of  our  brows,  he  might  have 
been  a  milHonaire  before  he  died,  and  his 
children  might  have  been  a  rich  man's  no- 
bodies, instead  of  taking  some  part,  years 
after,  in  making  Chicago  what  it  is  to-day. 

SPORTS 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Illinois  were  without  sports  and  rec- 
reation. The  vast  prairies  were  so  full  of 
prairie  chickens  that  in  the  breeding  season 
their  music  was  heard  on  every  breeze.  The 
scanty  forests  were  crowded  with  squirrels, 
raccoons  and  deer.  Beautiful  Rock  River 
swarmed  with  enough  fish  to  feed  a  continent. 
Black  bass,  as  game  as  speckled  trout,  and 
catfish  weighing  from  one  to  seventy  pounds, 
were  always  obtainable  in  their  season. 

There  were  no  twenty-dollar  rods  to  be 
had,  and  there  was  no  money  to  buy  them 
with  if  there  had  been  such  rods;  but  a  spear 
for  night  work  and  a  hook  and  line  and  pole 
that  did  the  business  in  the  daylight,  were 
imported  from  Chicago.    Suppose  we  accom- 

13 


J)ome  iHecoflettion^  of 


pany  the  farmer's  boys  on  a  night  foray. 
They  are  in  a  boat,  provided  with  an  iron 
grate  in  front  to  hold  a  torch  made  of  hickory 
bark  —  there  are  no  pine  knots  in  that  region. 
Proceeding  slowly  up  the  stream,  it  is  not  long 
before  they  strike  a  twenty-pound  pickerel, 
which  struggles  for  freedom  with  such  force 
as  to  break  the  spear  handle.  However, 
enough  of  the  fiber  remains  intact  to  land  the 
fish  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  Numerous 
smaller  fish  are  obtained  after  that;  then  a 
twenty-pound  catfish  is  caught  on  the  spear. 
When  landed  inside  the  boat  its  strength  is 
sufficient  to  make  havoc  of  our  seat  with  its 
swinging  tail,  reminding  its  captors  that  it 
must  be  thrust  under  the  gunwale  in  front 
or  it  will  soon  unload  the  boat  of  all  the 
smaller  fish.  That  ends  the  night's  sport, 
which  has  resulted  in  the  capture  of  two  fish 
weighing  forty  pounds,  and  enough  smaller 
ones  to  bring  up  the  total  catch  to  lOO  pounds. 
That  is  enough  to  last  the  two  famiHes  rep- 
resented for  a  week,  after  a  bountiful  share 
has  been  given  to  the  neighbors. 

Black  bass  were  caught  from  a  high  rock, 
rising  fifty  to  seventy-five  feet  out  of  the  river. 
The  eddying  current  below  made  it  ideal 
fishing  ground.  Bass  weighing  from  two  to 
five  pounds  could  always  be  had  there,  in  sea- 
son, for  the  effort  of  catching  them,  and  no 
finer  fish  swim  than  those  taken  from  the  clear, 
cold  water  of  Rock  River.     Catfish  were  also 

14 


'^m  li>.  f  ariDdl 


caught  with  hook  and  Hne.  One  hallelujah 
Methodist,  with  less  common-sense  than  noise, 
hooked  a  seventy-pounder  and,  on  drawing  it 
ashore  where  his  catch  was  visible,  he  became 
very  religious,  making  the  welkin  ring  with  his 
"Glory,  hallelujah!"  It  is  the  only  instance 
I  know  of  in  which  a  catfish  was  the  means 
of  religious  inspiration. 

Prairie  chickens,  raccoons,  and  deer  supplied 
meat  for  the  early  settlers  in  the  fall  and 
winter  seasons,  and  at  the  same  time  they 
gave  the  hardy  frontiersmen  plenty  of  exer- 
cise, as  well  as  sport.  Suppose  we  go  out 
with  the  same  party  with  "coon"  dogs  for  a 
night's  hunt.  Soon  we  hear  the  barking  of 
the  dogs,  informing  us  that  the  unwary  rac- 
coons are,  by  invitation  of  the  dogs,  up  a  tree, 
waiting  for  us  to  take  care  of  them.  That  is 
done  in  the  following  fashion :  The  most 
handy  climber  mounts  the  tree  and  with  a 
club  knocks  the  raccoons  insensible,  so  that 
they  let  go  their  hold  and  drop  to  the  ground, 
where  the  dogs  form  a  reception  committee  as 
noisy  as  a  brass  band.  To  this  uproar  the 
**coon"  adds  his  unavailing  protest  against  a 
personal  attack. 

Incidents  of  this  sort  are  repeated  several 
times  and  then  the  return  journey  begins, 
which  is  interrupted  by  an  extraordinary  in- 
cident. A  deer  that  has  been  sleeping  among 
the  top  branches  of  a  fallen  tree  attempts  to 
rise  and  run  just  as  the  dogs  are  passing.     It 

15 


^ome  ^ttntttttxtm^  of 


gets  entangled  in  the  tree  limbs  and  so 
becomes  an  easy  prey  to  the  dogs.  Never 
before  have  the  "coon"  dogs  captured  a  deer. 
Thus  fresh  meat  is  supplied  to  the  house  for 
a  month  without  drawing  on  the  farmyard. 

It  was  not  all  night  hunting,  however. 
One  of  the  farmers,  going  to  a  neighbor's  to 
grind  his  knife  for  butchering,  had  his  watch- 
dog along  with  him.  On  the  way  they  ran 
across  a  huge  buck  with  one  hind  leg  broken. 
The  dog  had  the  sense  to  tackle  the  deer's 
well  hind  leg,  and  of  course  the  deer's  at- 
tempt to  kick  with  that  leg  threw  it  to  the 
ground,  where  it  was  an  easy  prey  to  the 
butcher's  knife,  while  the  dog  held  it  down. 
Of  course  this  was  not  sport — except  that 
"Sport"  was  the  name  of  the  dog  that  made 
the  capture  possible  —  but  it  was  a  good  way 
of  supplying  the  farmer  with  meat.  In  due 
time,  also,  buckskin  mittens  were  another  very 
useful  product  of  that  morning's  exploit. 

Not  infrequently,  when  snow  was  on  the 
ground,  the  deer  traveled  in  droves  of  from 
three  to  twenty,  going  from  one  grove  to  an- 
other. I  remember  seeing  a  drove  of  twen- 
ty deer  passing  in  front  of  a  farmer's  house. 
A  boy  named  Charlie  Farwell,  with  a  shotgun 
loaded  with  three  bullets  large  enough  to  fill  the 
barrel,  started  for  them  up  a  steep  hill  after  they 
had  passed  the  brow.  Arriving  at  that  point, 
he  raised  his  gun  and  fired,  whereupon  he 
i6 


2FoI)n  B.  f  artDdl 


suddenly  turned  several  somersaults  back- 
wards down  the  hill.  His  gun  went  off  at 
both  ends  effectually.  The  muzzle  of  it  had 
taken  in  two  inches  of  snow  in  the  ascent  and 
was  blown  off  at  that  point  when  he  fired. 
Nothing  daunted  by  his  mishap,  he  hurried 
back  to  his  shooting  position  and  on  to  where 
the  deer  had  been  when  he  shot  at  them. 
There  he  found  a  great  deal  of  blood  on  the 
snow.  He  followed  the  trail  into  a  hazel 
thicket,  but  there  it  was  lost.  Consequently 
he  concluded  that  he  had  merely  drawn  blood 
by  a  shght  wound.  But  the  following  night 
was  made  hideous  by  the  howling  and  quar- 
reling of  a  pack  of  wolves  that  was  hold- 
ing high  carnival  over  the  carcass  of  the  deer. 
Another  search  by  daylight  revealed  the  bones 
that  were  the  only  relics  of  the  wolves'  repast. 


Prairie  chickens  hardly  ever  graced  the 
tables  of  the  early  settlers.  Without  hunting 
dogs,  prairie  chickens  were  hard  to  get.  They 
could  always  hide  in  the  grass  during  the  sum- 
mer and  fall,  and  during  the  winter  they  took 
to  the  trees  in  great  flocks,  where  they  could 
spy  the  hunter  before  he  could  get  within 
gunshot.  When  hunting  dogs  took  in  the 
situation,  a  few  years  later,  there  was  plenty  of 
magnificent  fun  and  there  were  also  feasts 
that  kings  might  have  been  proud  of,  when- 
ever time  could  be  spared  from  the  farm  work 
to  make  a  raid  on  the  chickens. 
17 


^ome  iSecoHection^  of 


sport,  the  dog  which  already  has  been  re- 
ferred to,  was  a  watch  dog.  When  wolves 
howled  around  the  house  that  he  had  to  guard, 
he  howled  back  at  them  the  information  that 
he  was  on  duty.  Such  scenes,  intermingled 
with  raising  corn  for  fuel  and  food,  making 
brick  and  a  wagon  to  transport  them,  together 
with  constructing  log  cabin  furniture,  and 
similar  employments,  made  Hfe  as  picturesque 
as  any  modern  city  could  make  it.  At  the 
same  time  were  produced  brain  and  brawn 
which,  with  our  boundless  prairies  of  excep- 
tional fertility,  commingled  to  give  us  such 
men  as  Lincoln  and  Grant  and  such  a  wealth 
of  agricultural  products  as  served  very  soon  to 
make  Chicago  the  center  of  the  Northwest. 
Judging  by  the  past,  this  city  will  one  day  be 
the  center  of  the  world  by  the  force  of  natural 
wealth  utihzed  for  general  distribution. 

Forty  years,  in  lUinois,  has  witnessed  more 
of  progress  than  any  other  forty  years  in  any 
other  country  the  world  has  ever  seen;  and  a 
look  over  one's  shoulder  at  the  Indian  camp 
and  at  old  Fort  Dearborn,  in  Chicago,  built 
as  a  defense  against  the  Indians,  from  the 
standpoint  of  to-day  makes  one  feel  that  his 
memories  must  certainly  be  only  the  wild 
creations  of  an  excited  imagination,  instead  of 
sober  facts.  We  came  in  time  to  see  the 
Indians  leave  this  marvelous  country,  and 
now  over  3,000,000  people  have  taken  their 
place. 

18 


SPoI^n  1^.  f  attoell 


The  new  log  mansion  was  hardly  finished 
before  Rev.  Mr.  Mitchell,  a  presiding  elder 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  made  a  meeting  house 
of  it,  and  the  whole  country  for  miles  around 
came  together  for  religious  services.  Rock 
River  Seminary,  at  Mt.  Morris,  the  protege 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  soon  sprang  into  being, 
and  in  it  Henry  Farwell  —  my  father  —  took  a 
deep  interest;  and  here  I  spent  several  win- 
ters before  going  to  Chicago,  keeping  "bach- 
elor's hall"  in  a  Httle  brick  cabin  built  for 
that  purpose,  and  acquiring  such  an  education 
as  that  institution  could  give.  This,  with  the 
robust  constitution  acquired  in  the  work  of 
opening  up  the  new  farm,  was  splendid  cap- 
ital with  which  to  start  business  in  after  years 
in  Chicago. 

FARM    LIFE 

Rail-splitting  was  the  first  manual  exercise 
in  making  a  farm,  and  father  and  sons  took  all 
of  this  exercise  that  was  required  to  fence  in 
what  seemed  to  York  State  farmers  to  be  an 
enormous  field.  This  done,  C.  B.  and  my- 
self were  drafted  to  do  the  prairie  breaking, 
with  a  lot  of  steers  bought  for  that  purpose 
the  previous  year.  The  names  of  said  steers 
were  as  follows,  in  pairs:  Boz  and  Shake- 
speare, Polk  and  Dallas,  Tippecanoe  and 
Tyler  too,  Martin  Van  Buren  and  Franklin 
Pierce,  Zach  Taylor  and  Millard  Fillmore. 
They,  with  an  old  pair  of  oxen  named  Moses 

19 


M>tnnt  MtttAltttion^  of 


and  Nebuchadnezzar,  made  up  the  team  with 
which  the  prairie  field  was  turned  over  in 
double-quick  time.  Splendid  crops  followed, 
and  those  same  steers  were  pressed  into  a 
transportation  company  to  remove  the  surplus 
wheat  to  Chicago,  when,  after  six  or  seven 
days,  round  trip,  the  returns  showed  gross  re- 
ceipts tobe  forty-five  cents  per  bushel;  which, 
but  for  making  a  hotel  of  our  covered  wagon, 
and  carrying  our  own  provisions  for  the  time, 
would  mostly  have  vanished  in  hotel  bills. 

The  incidents  of  this  transportation  compa- 
ny would  make  a  book  of  travels  more  lengthy 
than  these  pages  will  permit,  and  so  we  can 
only  say  they  were  —  well  —  jolly,  and  — 
sometimes  serious,  when  a  bottomless  slough 
was  reached. 

It  is  impossible  to  draw  even  a  word  pic- 
ture, true  to  the  facts,  to  represent  the  hard- 
ships of  making  farms  and  homes  in  Illinois, 
when  lumber  wagons  represented  the  only 
transportation  facilities,  and  everything  was 
wanting  but  a  wilderness  of  open  prairie. 

Let  us  take  a  look  into  one  log  cabin.  First, 
chairs,  tables,  and  bedsteads  are  needed,  with 
only  an  ax,  several  augers,  a  saw,  and  a  draw- 
shave  for  tools,  and  green  timber  for  material. 
The  corners  of  the  cabin  are  taken  for  the 
location  of  beds,  and  only  one  post  is  required 
for  two  side  pieces,  the  other  two  sides  being 
fixed  to  the  logs  of  the  cabin,  which  make  a 
very  firm  foundation  for  one  or  more  occu- 

20 


^tit^n  B.  f  artoell 


pants,  according  to  size,  and  with  room  un- 
derneath for  a  lower  story  of  beds.  Chairs 
and  tables  are  also  in  due  time  evolved  from 
the  same  materials  with  the  same  tools,  and 
a  well-furnished  frontiersman's  home  stands 
before  you. 

One  singular  fact  is  that  we  had  a  labor 
union  in  those  early  days.  Whenever  a  man 
had  his  logs  drawn  for  a  house  the  neighbors 
all  came  together  and  rolled  them  into  a  house, 
without  charge,  except  a  good  dinner,  which 
always  meant  enough. 

In  a  few  years  the  recollection  of  eastern 
homes  of  brick  and  stone  inspired  in  the 
minds  of  some  neighbors  the  idea  of  making 
bricks,  after  farm  work  was  done.  In  due 
time  a  man  was  found  who  could  boss  the 
brickyard,  and  then,  by  continued  evolution, 
aristocratic  brick  houses  succeeded  log  cab- 
ins, which  were  turned  into  stables.  One  of 
the  neighbors  lived  some  distance  from  the 
brickyard,  and  how  to  get  the  brick  to  the 
chosen  location  was  a  puzzle,  as  it  would  not 
do  to  use  the  lumber  wagon,  which  was  the 
only  ** go-to-meeting"  conveyance  in  the  coun- 
try. So  enterprising  home-made  mechanics 
evolved  wheels  from  a  tree  three  feet  in  di- 
ameter, sawing  them  off  to  make  them  two 
feet  wide  and  working  holes  through  them  for 
an  axle  made  of  a  small  hickory  tree.  Thus 
a  wagon  grew  from  a  mental  evolution  of  all 
of  its  parts  subjected  to  the  same  tools  that 

21 


^ome  iSccoflection^  of 


furnished  the  log  cabin.  A  look  at  this 
wagon,  with  i,000  bricks  on  it,  greased  with 
home-made  soft  soap,  and  drawn  by  three 
yoke  of  steers,  was  another  moving  picture 
that  would  capture  any  cosmopolitan  assem- 
bly, if  it  could  be  reproduced  in  Burton 
Holmes'  lectures. 

A  stone  quarry  near  by  furnished  stone  for 
foundations,  caps,  and  sills,  which  last  were  cut 
by  farmers'  boys  and  hauled  on  this  impro- 
vised wagon  from  the  quarry  to  the  house. 

Those  three  houses,  built  in  1844,  are  still 
standing  as  monuments  to  the  early  settlers' 
skill  and  grit  in  overcoming  difficulties  that 
would  seem  insurmountable  to  even  a  Yankee 
stranded  on  a  wild  prairie. 

But  what  about  farm  work  and  farm  prod- 
ucts to  support  such  luxurious  homes  and 
churches.?  Imagine  a  prairie  plow  drawn  by 
four  yoke  of  oxen,  attended  by  two  men,  get- 
ting two  acres  a  day  ready  for  a  crop  of  sod 
corn,  that  would  produce  ten  to  thirty  bushels 
to  the  acre,  and  when  the  crop  was  ready  for 
use,  making  it  the  cheapest  fuel  you  could 
get,  both  for  your  fireplace  and  for  your 
stomach. 

It  is  not  hard  work  to  imagine  also  that 
diamonds,  silks,  satins,  and  broadcloths  would 
never  be  even  dreamed  of  as  any  part  of  the 
luxuries  of  that  day.  Calico  dresses  and 
sheep's  gray  clothing  were  the  luxuries  most 
appreciated.  And  yet  there  were  royal  society 
22 


S^olin  t5.  fartodi 


functions  in  those  days,  when  the  young  men 
could  take  their  sweethearts  to  social  gather- 
ings on  horseback — the  girls  riding  behind 
and  being  compelled  to  make  of  their  lovers 
an  anchor  for  safety,  by  hanging  on  with 
arms  of  strength  if  not  of  affection.  The 
young  man  who  could  steal  a  march  on  all  his 
comrades  by  engaging  the  only  sidesaddle  in 
town  for  his  fair  companion's  use  was  not  envied 
as  much  as  he  might  have  been,  as  the  one- 
horse  vehicle  afforded  much  the  better  chance 
for  a  lively  conversation,  just  as  private  as  a 
wide  prairie  could  make  it. 

When  the  old  people  were  in  search  of 
social  enjoyment  the  "prairie  schooner,''  with 
sails  all  furled  and  laid  away,  was  seated  with 
boards  across  the  box,  and  as  many  families  as 
could  be  mustered  on  the  same  road  to  make 
a  full  cargo  were  gathered  up  on  the  way  to 
the  rendezvous,  and  no  charge  was  made  by 
the  captain  of  the  ''schooner."  It  was  a  free 
pass,  and  there  was  no  law  against  it,  either. 
Another  thing:  there  was  more  real  pleasure 
extracted  from  an  evening's  entertainment  at 
a  farmer's  home  than  in  the  millionaire  show- 
downs of  our  great  cities  of  to-day. 

There  was  no  gossip  or  scandal  to  peddle 
out  in  small  or  large  doses.  The  main  busi- 
ness was  to  muster  all  sorts  of  efforts  to 
make  the  pastor's  allowance  meet  his  wants, 
and  if  anybody  else  was  short  of  the  necessi- 
ties of  life  it  would  not  be  many  days  before 

23 


^omc  flccoilection^  of 


they  were  long  on  these  same  things,  and  not 
a  thing  was  bought  or  sold  on  "the  market  to 
meet  the  case.  It  was  a  board  of  trade  for 
mutual  profit  and  protection  from  wants  of 
all  kinds,  and  not  for  skinning  the  fellows  with 
a  deficient  upper  story. 

Imagine,  if  you  can,  a  New  York  or  Chi- 
cago board  of  trade  or  stock  exchange  en- 
gaged in  selling  options  on  home-making 
under  such  conditions,  or  taking  any  chances 
themselves  in  making  them.  Yet,  but  for  this 
foundation,  laid  by  men  and  women  who  did 
take  the  hardships  and  chances  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  grandest  empire  per  square  mile  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  there  would  have  been 
no  grain  or  stock  to  buy  and  sell  and  no  options 
either.  Hence  it  is  in  order  for  Illinois  of 
1 90 1  to  doff  hats  to  1838  and  thank  God  that 
somebody  had  the  courage  to  fight  Indians,  as 
well  as  the  hardships  of  frontier  life,  in  order 
that  Chicago  and  the  imperial  Northwestern 
states  of  to-day  might  be  ours  to  enjoy. 

Industrial  combinations  and  labor  unions  in 
Illinois  began  not  alone  with  the  rolling  of 
logs  into  a  house  by  men  of  a  community 
without  cost  to  the  owner,  except  a  good  din- 
ner. One  family  of  boys  started  a  basket 
factory  with  the  primitive  tools  of  the  settlers 
and  a  few  young  white  oak  trees,  to  supply 
the  farmers'  demand  for  implements  for  han. 
dling  corn,  which  was  the  main  product  of  the 
farm.  Those  boys  had  learned  the  trade  in 
24 


3^ol)n  t5.  f  attDdl 


New  York  State  in  helping  an  old  man  in  his 
work,  and  now,  out  on  the  frontier,  what  they 
sowed  in  kindness  they  reaped  in  stock  in 
trade,  representing  an  income  very  much  ap- 
preciated by  the  family,  while  the  baskets 
were  a  benefaction  to  farmers  in  handling 
crops,  thus  making  the  factory  very  popular. 

Imagine  white  oak  saplings,  through  the 
necromancy  of  brains,  muscle,  and  a  little  early 
training,  turned  into  transportation  facilities 
that  made  an  income  for  the  boys  and  a  joy 
forever  to  the  farmer,  who  needed  just  such 
an  addition  to  his  implements  for  the  produc- 
tion and  disposition  of  his  crops. 

This  was  the  modus  operandi:  A  sapling 
was  cut  and  split  into  lengths  for  ribs  and 
splints  and  formed  into  regulation  shape  and 
lengths.  These  were  then  riven  into  thick- 
nesses suitable  for  weaving  the  baskets  of  the 
sizes  desired,  and  soon  an  assortment  of  all 
sizes  was  ready  for  market.  There  was 
never  a  strike  in  that  basket  factory,  and  the 
division  of  proceeds  was  on  the  most  liberal 
scale.  The  whole  family  shared  in  them,  ex- 
cept the  proceeds  of  one  basket  —  full  size  — 
which  the  junior  member  of  the  firm  took  to 
town  on  a  trading  excursion  to  obtain  a  jack- 
knife  for  his  individual  use.  The  basket  was 
cheap  at  $1.50,  and  the  merchant  demanded 
it  for  the  knife,  which  probably  cost  him  not 
over  fifteen  cents.  Here  is  where  capital  in 
that  early  day  took  advantage  of  labor,  and 
25 


M^tnnt  MtttAltttim^  of 


yet  there  was  no  strike  and  no  mob  as  a  re- 
sult. The  boy  pocketed  the  knife,  instead  of 
revenge,  and  went  home  to  whittle  out  the  loss 
into  a  great  gain  in  an  improved  instrument 
for  doing  the  fine  work  in  basket  making. 

Very  few  industrial  institutions  ever  made 
such  a  big  showing  out  of  raw  material,  or 
made  better  profits  on  the  capital  invested.  It 
was  labor  only  which  ruled  the  day,  without 
any  eight-hour  law  to  regulate  it.  Labor  got 
the  whole  of  the  proceeds  and  not  a  protest 
from  capital  was  ever  heard.  Strange  how 
human  nature  has  changed  in  sixty  years !  The 
law  of  heredity  seems  to  have  utterly  lost  its 
power  of  transmitting  the  characters  of  those 
early  settlers  to  the  present  generation.  Now 
strikes  are  ubiquitous,  and  yet  capital  has  in- 
creased from  nothing  to  be  the  bone  and  sinew 
of  an  empire  of  labor,  and  each  stands  pat  for 
its  own  rights  alone  when  the  strikes  are  over 
and  the  machinery,  as  well  as  the  money,  moves 
on  harmoniously  for  mutual  music  as  well 
as  profit.  When  will  men  learn  that  capital 
is  the  complement  of  labor,  full  as  much 
as  labor  is  the  complement  of  capital?  The 
recognition  of  their  interdependence  is  the 
only  road  to  independence  for  each.  War  be- 
tween them  always  has  been  and  always  will  be 
temporary  ruin  for  both. 

No  tariff  was  needed  in  those  early  days  to 
protect  home  industries,  but  it  was  absolutely 
26 


f  oljn  15.  iFartodl 


necessary,  occasionally,  to  import  from  Chicago 
a  few  luxuries,  like  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  and  calico, 
which  home  industries  could  not  produce,  and 
to  sell  enough  farm  products  to  provide  the 
purchase  money.  The  first  export  was  sev- 
eral sleigh  loads  of  dressed  pork,  in  a  bitter 
cold  winter,  the  drivers  of  the  sleighs  going 
together,  for  mutual  protection.  The  reader 
will  imagine  himself  one  of  the  drivers,  in  the 
middle  of  a  prairie,  twenty  miles  across,  and 
his  ears  assailed  by  the  clamor  of  a  howling, 
hungry  pack  of  wolves,  which  have  surrounded 
the  caravan,  having  scented  fresh  meat  as  a 
most  desirable  repast. 

If  they  had  been  the  big,  gray  wolves  there 
might  have  been  a  tragedy.  As  it  was,  the 
hair  of  a  lot  of  farmers'  boys  stood  on  end, 
and  several  hearts  beat  to  the  tune  of  io6 
degrees  of  inside  temperature,  though  the 
weather  outside  was  many  degrees  below  zero. 
The  animals  were  only  the  cowardly  prairie 
wolves,  which  would  howl  lustily  but  would 
only  attack  mice,  rabbits,  and  chickens.  The 
boys,  however,  at  that  time,  were  not  posted 
in  the  cowardice  of  the  prairie  wolves.  There 
was  a  hotel  and  a  good  fire,  more  hospitable 
than  the  grove,  where  the  wolf-beleaguered 
party  arrived,  on  the  further  edge  of  that 
twenty-mile  prairie. 

After  three  more  days  of  good  sleighing, 
the  pork  was  sold  at  $1.50  a  hundred  pounds, 
$30  for  a  ton.  That  price  would  hardly 
27 


^ome  iSccolIection^  of 


satisfy  Armour  &  Co.  after  its  agent  had 
spent  a  week  with  a  team  to  find  a  market. 
But  $30  was  a  big  sum  in  those  days,  and 
with  tea  a  dollar  a  pound,  coffee  fifty  cents, 
sugar  twenty-five  cents,  and  calico  twenty-five 
cents  a  yard,  the  whole  proceeds  of  the  sale  in 
purchases  could  be  put  into  the  smallest  basket 
produced  by  the  home  factory.  Such  was  life 
in  those  early  days.  But  the  home  reception 
was,  nevertheless,  princely ;  for  the  mothers 
were  there  to  make  and  dispense  the  tea, 
which,  costing  so  much,  was  fit  for  a  king. 

MARKETING 

This  picture  would  not  be  complete  with- 
out a  look  at  a  summer  trip  to  market  to  sell 
wheat  and  get  trimmings  and  finishing  lumber 
for  a  brick  cottage,  mentioned  on  a  previous 
page.  There  were  no  bridges  in  those  days, 
and  the  numberless  sloughs  were  more  trouble- 
some than  live  streams.  To  cope  with  these 
it  was  necessary  to  land  one  load  of  wheat  on 
the  Chicago  side  of  the  slough.  To  go  over  the 
same  road  now  no  one  would  believe  this 
history,  as  there  are  no  sloughs.  The  plow- 
ing of  the  prairies  absorbs  all  the  rain,  which 
then  ran  off  into  the  low  places,  making  lakes 
in  some  and  sloughs  in  all  narrow  runways 
for  the  water. 

On  arriving  in  Chicago  the  wheat  was  sold 
for  forty- five  cents  a  bushel,  or  $18  for  the 
load,  with  six  good  hard  days  to  make  it. 
28 


^Foljn  B.  f  attoell 


The  wheat  was  hoisted  into  the  second  story 
of  a  store  at  the  corner  of  State  and  South 
Water  streets,  with  a  rope  elevator,  and  car- 
ried back  forty  feet  to  a  bin  prepared  to 
receive  it.  The  merchant  who  bought  the 
wheat  pulled  at  the  rope  with  the  farmer 
boys  who  sold  it.  Armour's  elevator  is  some- 
what more  effective,  handling  a  few  more 
bushels  a  day.  Railroads,  with  sixty  cars  in 
a  train  and  carrying  8o,000  bushels  from 
Rock  River  in  five  hours,  now  afford  a  trans- 
formed method  of  transportation. 

Every  improvement  on  the  farm,  resulting 
from  ''labor,"  was  quite  practicable,  but  any- 
thing that  required  **  money"  was  out  of  the 
question.  Forty-five  cents  per  bushel  for  sur- 
plus wheat  would  hardly  keep  up  taxes  and 
buy  the  actual  necessities  of  Hfe  that  could  not 
be  produced  on  the  farm.  My  recollection  is 
that  the  first  brick  house  in  Ogle  County  was 
the  product  of  home  manufacture,  from  the 
brick  to  the  wagon  that  transported  them.  We 
were  quite  proud  of  this  outgrowth  of  an  en- 
forced tariff.  We  had  no  visions  of  **free" 
trade  in  those  days,  for  we  had  no  cash  to 
meet  balances  of  trade,  and  so  had  to  work  out 
our  own  salvation  from  every  want  that  stared 
us  in  the  face.  Of  course  we  made  the  wants 
as  few  as  possible,  so  that  supply  and  demand 
should  square  themselves  exactly  to  the  labor 
question,  and  thus  we  extracted  a  good  deal  of 
solid  comfort,  even  ourt  of  our  discomforts,  as 
29 


^ome  iSccoflectiott^  of 


one  addition  after  another  was  made  to  the 
fourteen-foot  square  log  cabin,  full  of  unshelled 
beans  and  mice,  that  first  greeted  our  visions 
of  a  new  home  on  the  prairies  of  Illinois. 

One  of  the  hardships  of  the  pioneer  settlers 
was  the  fact  that  "Squatter  Sovereignty"  had 
lain  down  on  all  the  best  locations  with  a  view 
of  selling  these  squatter  claims  to  "real  set- 
tlers," so  that  nearly  all  of  the  old  pioneers, 
to  get  choice  locations,  were  compelled  to  buy 
of  this  "roaming"  frontier  element  their  squat- 
ter claims.  The  homestead  law  followed, 
which  left  those  claims  (beyond  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres)  open  to  any  one  who  could 
build  a  shanty  and  move  into  it.  So  one 
bright  morning  *' Moses "  and  "Nebuchadnez- 
zar" and  their  worthy  coadjutors  in  the  line  of 
transportation  were  seen  hitched  to  a  "lean  to ' ' 
addition  to  the  new  log  mansion,  and  away  it 
went  to  locate  on  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
that  the  log  mansion  did  not  cover,  making  two 
homestead  pre-emptions  instead  of  one. 

Illinois  was  the  pioneer  state  of  the  great 
Northwest  in  transforming  into  farms  wild 
prairie  lands,  covered  with  grass  and  flowers. 
As  the  prairies  were  boundless,  this  was  not 
the  work  of  a  year,  but  of  many  years.  If 
these  fertile  plains  had  been  covered  with  for- 
ests instead  of  grass  and  flowers — Hke  Ohio 
and  other  states  in  the  East — this  transfor- 
mation would  have  required  a  century  of  time 
and  an  expenditure  of  labor  and  capital  suf- 

30 


Sfoljn  m  f  artoril 


ficient  to  span  the  continent  with  a  first-class, 
thoroughly  equipped  railroad. 

But  the  farmers  had  to  wait  many  years 
before  these  farms  meant  anything  to  them 
more  than  a  home,  and  the  very  hardest  kind 
of  work  was  the  only  insurance  against  abso- 
lute want — not  because  they  did  not  raise 
good  crops  of  all  kinds,  but  because  it  cost  as 
much  to  market  in  Chicago  all  that  could  not 
be  eaten  at  home  as  it  brought,  if  the  labors  of 
team  and  driver  were  counted  for  anything. 

Let  us  picture,  if  we  can,  the  amount  of 
labor  necessary  to  produce  forty  bushels  of 
wheat,  or  one  wagon  load,  and  market  it: 

Plowing  two  acres,  man  and  team  one  day    .  $  2.00 

Seed,  sowing,  and  harrowing 1. 00 

Harvesting,  two  men,  one  day 2.00 

Threshing,  horses  and  men,  by  treading  it  out 

on  the  ground  and  winnowing  it  in  the  wind      4.00 
Team  and  man,  six  days,  to  market  in  Chi- 
cago       12.00 

Feed  for  man  and  team,  six  days    .      .      .    .       3.00 

Total  cost $24.00 

Sold  in  Chicago  for 18.00 

The  men  who  did  the  plowing  and  harvest- 
ing with  the  implements  of  that  day  were  ex- 
hausted at  the  end  of  a  day's  work  by  holding 
a  plow  and  walking  behind  it  or  swinging  a 
cradle  to  cut  the  grain.  Now  the  plow  holds 
itself  and  gives  the  man  a  spring  seat  to  ride 
on,  and  the  wheat  is  sown  and  cut  with 
machinery  on  which  one  man  rides  and  drives  a 
team,  and  sows  fifteen  or  twenty  acres.    When 

31 


J)ome  iltccollection^  of 


the  grain  is  ripe  one  man  with  team  and  a 
reaper  cuts  and  binds  fifteen  acres  in  a  day. 
At  night  the  man  goes  home  ready  for  a  dance 
or  anything  else  that  requires  energy. 

Accidents  will  happen  in  the  use  of  the 
commonest  utensils,  as  well  as  of  compHcated 
machinery.  I  remember  an  ambitious  farm- 
er's boy  who  imagined  he  could  use  a  cradle. 
In  his  first  swing  of  that  harvesting  machine 
he  slashed  a  three-inch  cut  in  the  calf  of  his 
leg.  This  kind  of  harvest  required  a  surgeon, 
and  his  older  brother  hurried  to  the  house  for 
thread  and  needle,  and  sewed  up  the  cut  in 
the  same  fashion  that  he  sewed  on  the  buckskin 
cover  of  a  baseball — without  any  anaesthetics, 
either. 

The  only  possible  way  to  harvest  crops  with 
cradle  and  rake  was  by  means  of  an  excellent 
labor  union  among  farmers  and  their  boys 
to  gather  the  fields  that  were  first  ripe.  Such 
an  aggregation  of  labor,  thus  employed,  made 
the  work  comparatively  easy,  as  there  were 
wide-awake  ones  that  were  weeks  ahead  of 
their  neighbors  in  plowing  and  sowing;  then 
others  graded  down  to  the  ''slow  coach,"  al- 
ways behind  his  fellows.  So  a  little  army  of 
laborers,  going  from  one  farm  to  another,  as 
the  crops  were  ripe,  made  it  one  of  the  most 
successful  labor  unions  I  ever  saw.  There 
was  no  walking  delegate,  to  be  sure,  warning 
all  hands  to  quit  because  some  one  was  at 
work  who  did  not  belong  to  the  union. 
32 


ffol)n  ©.  f atiDell 


The  only  ones  that  had  any  right  to  com- 
plain were  the  farmers'  wives,  who  had  to 
feed  this  little  army;  but  even  here  instal- 
ments in  the  cooking  line  from  the  neighbors' 
reserve  forces  were  always  ready  to  help  feed 
their  own  families  at  another  man's  table,  as 
it  would  soon  be  their  turn  to  be  the  principal 
providers  for  that  army  when  their  wheat  was 
ready  for  harvest. 

The  McCormicks  and  Deerings  were  the 
natural  products  of  these  western  prairies. 
They  saw  that  it  was  impossible  to  harvest  by 
hand  these  vast  regions  of  grain,  and  so  they 
set  their  brains  to  work  to  produce  reapers  to 
do  the  business.  They  are  the  benefactors  of 
not  only  the  farmer  but  everybody  who  consumes 
farm  products  —  giving  one  an  easy  time  in 
raising  endless  quantities  of  wheat,  and  the  other 
a  much  cheaper  price  for  his  daily  bread. 
We  see  much  in  print  nowadays  from  theo- 
retical laborers  as  to  how  machinery  has  thrown 
the  laboring  man  out  of  work,  but  we  scarcely 
ever  hear  about  the  cost  of  his  clothing  and 
daily  bread  being  reduced  one-half  or  more 
by  that  agency.  The  reaper  has  now  sur- 
rounded the  globe  with  its  cheap  food  music  and 
enabled  the  husbandman  to  educate  and  clothe 
his  family  hke  a  prince,  while  the  man  who,  in 
the  long  ago,  had  no  reaper  and  had  to  sell 
wheat  for  less  than  labor  cost,  had  to  get  his 
children  educated  with  as  many  difficulties  as 
he  encountered  in  farming. 

33 


^omc  iSecoIlection^  of 


PIONEER    EDUCATION    AND 
RELIGION 

One  farmer's  boy  worked  in  a  brickyard 
to  earn  brick  enough  to  build  a  one-story 
house  sixteen  feet  square  in  which  to  board 
himself  and  obtain  a  seminary  education,  after 
having  been  graduated  in  the  common  school 
near  home.  That  seminary — the  first  one  in 
the  northern  part  of  Illinois  —  gave  to  the 
state  one  governor,  several  congressmen,  one 
senator,  a  general  in  the  army  under  Lincoln 
and  Grant,  and  many  clergymen  to  introduce 
the  glorified  Nazarene  to  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  men.  The  University  of  Chicago  has  no 
students  who  build  their  own  houses  and  cook 
their  own  food  to  get  an  education,  and  yet  if 
its  classes  shall  turn  out  more  governors,  sen- 
ators and  gospel  ministers  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  students,  that  will  give  it  a 
better  advertisement  than  its  millions  of  en- 
dowment and  great  array  of  professors,  that 
in  a  few  years  have  made  it  one  of  the  fore- 
most universities  of  the  world. 

Our  first  church  service  was  in  our  doctor's 
cabin.  The  furniture  was  two  double  beds 
and  some  wood  benches,  and  the  organ  was  a 
live  one — the  doctor's  wife.  The  minister 
was  Luke  Hitchcock,  who  drove  twenty-one 
miles,  and  preached  fifteen  minutes,  with  a 
class  meeting  to  follow.  The  audience  was 
unique,  more  children  than  adults,  but  the 
34 


S'oljn  B.  JFartoeU 


music  filled  the  room  with  a  symphony  of  real 
worship  that  no  hired  choir  can  begin  to  equal, 
for  it  was  a  heart,  as  well  as  a  vocal  orchestra, 
when  "Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul,"  was  sung  as 
only  my  mother  could  sing  it,  and  reminded 
me  of  that  voiceless  music  of  the  fog  turned 
into  a  crown  of  silver  and  gold  clouds  to  crown 
the  mountains,  on  my  way  to  market  in  New 
York  State.  Old  Sol  and  the  Son  of  Right- 
eousness often  speak  out  the  same  musical 
poetry  for  ears  that  are  open  to  hear. 

Often  without  a  minister,  the  people  would 
gather  at  some  convenient  center  and  be  led 
by  some  one  of  their  own  number.  On  one 
such  occasion  a  very  religious  man,  of  little 
education,  read  the  story  of  the  Saviour's  entry 
into  Jerusalem  on  *'a  colt,  the  foal  of  an  ass," 
before  which  procession  the  people  spread 
branches  of  palm  trees.  In  explanation  of 
this  Scripture  he  exclaimed  with  marked  ve- 
hemence, "  But  they  could  not  stop  that  colt." 
While  his  audience  were  not  edified  by  his 
comments  on  Scripture,  his  honest  zeal  made 
up  for  his  want  of  exegetical  power.  There- 
fore, judge  not  from  outward  appearances  or 
expressions  the  inward  evolution  of  the  heart 
and  mind  which  would  make  the  Master  with- 
in invincible  to  human  nature  obstacles. 

The  next  year,  1840,  there  was  a  camp- 
meeting  in  the  grove  near  a  fine  spring,  clear 
as  crystal,  coming  up  from  the  ground,  as  if 
to  remind  thirsty  ones  of  the  Master's  living 
35 


^mtie  ileccHecticm^  of 


water,  springing  up  within  them  in  answer  to 
their  request,  Hke  the  woman's  at  Jacob's 
well,  "  Give  me  of  this  water,  that  I  thirst  not, 
neither  come  hither  to  draw."  A  large  number 
drank  of  that  living  water,  among  whom  were 
the  Farwell  boys,  two  of  whom  have  gone 
where  they  **  thirst  no  more."  My  own  father 
led  me  to  the  altar  the  next  day  after  I  had 
heard  my  sainted  mother  praying  for  me  before 
retiring  for  the  night.  They  had  learned  their 
part  of  the  sixth  of  Ephesians,  "Fathers,  pro- 
voke not  your  children  to  wrath,  but  bring 
them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord."     Blessed  be  their  memory. 

Another  meeting  that  had  important  results 
was  held  near  Mount  Morris,  at  the  time  the 
corner  stone  of  the  seminary  was  laid.  A 
bishop  and  many  ministers  of  high  rank  were 
present  to  celebrate  that  event.  There  was 
another  interesting  person  present  —  an  Indian 
minister,  of  very  fine  appearance,  who  could 
sing  to  perfection,  making  the  forest  ring  with 
his  music. 

Robert  Hitt,  then  a  very  small  boy,  who 
was  afterwards  chairman  of  the  important 
committee  on  foreign  relations  in  the  national 
house  of  representatives,  was  one  of  the  early 
students,  his  father  being  a  prominent  minis- 
ter and  an  able  supporter  of  the  seminary. 
An  older  brother,  John  Hitt,  for  over  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  was  the  deputy  United  States 
collector  of  customs  in  Chicago. 
36 


MOUNT   MORRIS  SEMINARY 


3^ol)n  B.  f  artodl 


MOUNT   MORRIS 

Chicago  then  being  the  only  commercial 
city  in  this  great  state,  and  Mount  Morris 
seminary  being  the  largest  and  best  school  in 
the  state  under  Methodist  control,  it  was 
quite  natural  that  Chicago  should  furnish  a 
large  quota  of  students.  It  was  also  to  be 
expected  that  farmer  boys,  though  boarding 
themselves,  should  make  the  acquaintance  of 
those  young  Chicagoans  and  should  observe 
the  difference  in  their  financial  condition. 

It  may  be  true  that  those  rough  farmer 
boys  were  not,  at  first,  very  popular  with  the 
Chicago  aristocrats  at  the  school,  who  could 
plank  down  the  cash  for  their  expenses  and 
take  the  best  rooms  in  the  seminary  building; 
but  time  and  hard  work  in  their  studies  soon 
compelled  a  respect  that  is  always  given  to 
true  merit.  Results  thus  accomplished  soon 
drew  marks  of  scholarship  which  money  could 
not  buy.  This  gave  them  a  good  preparation 
to  cope  with  the  city  boys  as  competitors 
in  the  practical  application  of  hard  work, 
and  a  competent  education  in  the  various 
occupations  of  the  city,  to  which  many  of  the 
youths  found  their  way  after  graduation  from 
that  school. 

They  did  not  arrive  on  a  railroad  train,  but 
usually  on  a  load  of  wheat,  as  extra  baggage, 
and  by  way  of  paying  fare  they  took  care  of  the 
horses  on  the  way.  Arriving  in  the  city,  they 
could  not  stop  at  hotels,  for  the  want  of  funds, 

37 


^ome  iSecoIIection^  of 


so  the  farmers*  wives  were  drawn  on  for  com- 
missary supplies,  and  the  granary  for  horse  feed. 
Thus  equipped,  with  a  covered  wagon  to  sleep 
in,  they  traveled  in  a  way  that  the  present 
times  cannot  appreciate  or  comprehend. 

In  Chicago  all  the  farmer  had  to  do  was  to 
sell  his  wheat  and  go  home.  Not  so  with  the 
young  men  who  had  left  home  and  mother  to 
make  their  way  in  this  world,  with  not  a  cent 
in  their  pockets.  True,  their  home  training 
was  a  splendid  preparation  for  meeting  such 
conditions,  but,  all  the  same,  the  thoughts 
that  forced  themselves  upon  those  young  men 
were  by  no  means  inspiring,  except  that  they 
bred  a  wholesome  feeling  of  self-dependence 
and  responsibility,  as  well  as  dependence  upon 
the  capital  of  character  and  purpose,  rather 
than  on  dollars  and  cents.  Such  capital  never 
fails  of  recognition  and  never  fails  to  accumu- 
late the  other  in  due  time,  if  honestly  employed 
in  an  honest  business  —  which  also  adds  to 
character  when  thus  joined. 

The  problem  was  to  find  an  opportunity  to 
invest  the  capital  of  labor  and  ability  for 
capital  in  cash,  which  was  much  more  scarce 
than  labor,  and  yet  needed  such  a  partnership, 
as  it  always  does,  and  always  will.  In  due  time 
one  of  those  boys  concluded  such  a  partner- 
ship at  eight  dollars  a  month  and  his  board,  with 
the  promise  of  more  if  he  earned  it  at  the  end 
of  the  year.  Working  from  6  a.  m.  to  9  p.  m. 
and  sleeping  in  the  store  as  watchman,  were 
38 


3Fol)n  "B.  f  attpell 


the  conditions  of  the  partnership.  It  was  the 
second  largest  retail  dry  goods  and  grocery 
store  in  town,  selling  about  $25,000  worth  of 
goods  a  year.  The  work  was  selling  goods 
and  keeping  books. 

It  did  not  take  a  seminary  graduate  long  to 
learn  the  ins  and  outs  of  this  trade  in  a  town 
of  about  ten  thousand  people,  and  when  the 
year  was  up  and  no  addition  to  the  monthly 
salary  was  allowed,  that  labor  partner  in  trade 
shook  the  dust  of  that  store  from  his  feet  as 
he  bade  good  morning  to  the  capital  partner. 
Within  an  hour  he  quadrupled  the  eight  dol- 
lars a  month  salary,  at  another  store. 

Opening  up  a  farm  on  a  prairie  is  a  very 
different  affair  from  clearing  off  dense  timber 
land  for  the  plow.  Four  yoke  of  three-year- 
old  steers  and  one  of  old  oxen  in  front  of  a 
breaking  plow  that  turned  over  two-feet  fur- 
rows of  prairie  turf,  soon  gave  us  a  large 
field  of  sod  corn.  The  second  year  the  horses 
that  moved  us  from  New  York  prepared  the 
ground  for  all  sorts  of  crops,  from  potatoes 
to  wheat. 

The  wheat  was  threshed  by  these  same 
horses,  used  as  a  treadmill,  and  winnowed  out 
in  the  wind,  of  which  we  had  a  plentiful  sup- 
ply for  nothing.  The  first  wagon  load  of 
produce  for  sale  was  made  up  of  water  mel- 
ons, and  was  taken  to  Dixon,  twelve  miles 
away.  They  were  fine,  but  did  not  bring 
present  Chicago  prices. 

39 


^ome  iletollectxDn^  of 


About  this  time  I  was  impressed  to  try  the 
power  of  prayer  for  an  urgent  personal  need, 
which  was  answered  at  once  and  for  all  time. 
Then  an  event  of  unusual  importance  oc- 
curred. It  was  no  less  than  an  application  by 
the  United  States  Surveyor  to  make  our  log 
mansion  his  headquarters,  while  for  twenty 
miles  in  all  directions  the  land  was  being  sec- 
tionized.  My  oldest  brother  was  made  a 
chainman,  and  the  next,  who  had  learned 
surveying,  was  made  one  of  the  surveyor's 
helpers  on  the  field,  and  in  drawing  maps  in 
the  office.  We  needed  their  wages  then  more 
than  we  ever  did  subsequently.  When  the 
headquarters  were  moved  some  thirty  miles 
away,  mother  was  taken  sick  and  expected  to 
die,  and  the  boy  surveyor  was  sent  for  in 
great  haste.  Meantime  I  had  made  a  shelter 
of  a  big  haystack  at  night,  and  the  shade  of  a 
large  forest  tree  by  day,  my  places  of  prayer 
for  her  recovery,  and  soon  after  seeing  the  re- 
turned boy,  as  her  expected  last  family  act, 
she  began  to  recover  rapidly,  instead  of  mak- 
ing our  home  desolate  by  her  absence.  Again 
prayer  was  answered  for  my  mother,  as  well 
as  for  myself  the  previous  year. 

In  due  time  the  land  sales  occurred  at  Dix- 
on, after  we  had  made  pre-emptions  on  our 
farm  land.  Many  others  did  not  take  this 
precaution  and  speculators  came  to  bid  on 
their  lands.  The  settlers  held  a  meeting  and 
voted  that  the  first  speculator  who  should 
40 


2Fof)n  B.  f  artoell 


bid  on  a  farmer's  home  should  have  a  pro- 
longed cold  bath  in  Rock  River,  which  was 
conveniently  near  for  such  purpose.  The 
speculators  altered  their  minds  and  every  one 
of  the  farmers  entered  his  own  land  without 
any  opposition. 

The  school  house,  as  in  earlier  days,  brought 
me  into  companionship  with  a  girl  near  my 
own  age,  who  captured  me  at  first  sight.  It 
would  be  a  long  story  to  tell  how  I  walked  a 
mile  to  borrow  a  sidesaddle  to  take  her  to  a 
party  of  young  people,  and  all  that  followed, 
up  to  the  time  we  were  married  by  the  prin- 
cipal of  Rock  River  Seminary,  where  we  both 
were  students,  and  how  I  surprised  him  after 
the  ceremony  by  introducing  him  to  "a  dutch- 
ess."  When  a  small  boy  I  talked  so  crooked 
that  I  was  named  ** Dutch,"  and  kept  the 
name  till  after  I  was  married,  so  of  course  she 
was  a  "dutchess,"  and  I  introduced  her  to  the 
parson  who  married  us  as  a  **dutchess."  I 
had  built  a  comfortable  home,  when  my  sal- 
ary was  $600  a  year,  and  after  becoming  a 
partner  in  the  house  for  which  I  was  at  work 
we  were  married  and  moved  into  that  palace 
which  was  desolated  by  her  death  two  years 
after. 

Before  leaving  school  I  determined  to  learn 
bookkeeping  and  the  principal  said,  **  Get 
two  more  boys  and  I  will  teach  the  class."  I 
soon  had  them  enlisted,  and  became  an  expert 
bookkeeper,  in  theory,  which  I  reduced  to 
41 


^ome  iSetoHettion^  of 


practice  in  Chicago,  and  when  a  wholesale  firm 
wanted  a  bookkeeper  I  was  selected,  because 
I  had  had  to  settle  a  fire  loss  for  a  retail  house, 
when  I  was  bookkeeper  with  the  main  pro- 
prietor of  the  wholesale  firm,  by  which  I  dem- 
onstrated my  abiHty  for  the  place  and  got  it. 

The  religious  privileges  at  the  seminary 
were  remarkably  good,  and  the  wide  undulat- 
ing prairie  always  made  an  appropriate  place 
for  secret  prayer,  with  only  the  stars  as  look- 
ers-on, far  more  awe  and  prayer-inspiring  than 
any  closet.  All  the  teachers  were  earnest 
Christians,  which  simplified  the  work  of  living 
Christian  lives,  as  the  school-room,  as  well  as 
the  church,  gave  an  uplift  to  holy  inclinations, 
and  put  a  brake  on  impiety.  Still  there  was 
the  bent  to  mischief,  when  our  professor  in 
teaching  mathematics  sent  his  wife  to  take  his 
place,  whenever  a  hard  lesson  had  to  be 
taught.  The  boys  were  not  long  in  ascertain- 
ing the  reason,  so  whenever  such  a  lesson  had 
to  be  taught  by  him  they  were  not  backward 
in  coming  forward  with  the  hardest  ques- 
tions they  could  devise  to  develop  his  want  of 
capacity.  His  wife  was  a  very  homely  woman 
until  we  found  out  that  she  had  the  mind  of  a 
philosopher,  and  then  she  was  beautiful  enough 
to  command  our  worship. 

LEAVING    HOME 

One  of  the  hardest  jobs  I  ever  tackled  was 
to  leave  the  scenes  of  our  new-made  home, 
42 


foftn  15.  f artoell 


in  1845,  to  carve  my  own  future  in  the  cold 
world,  with  no  loving  father  and  mother  as  the 
companions  of  my  later,  as  of  my  early  toils. 
My  father  gave  me  three  dollars  —  all  the 
money  he  had.  My  mother  gave  me  a  Bible, 
with  this  most  effective  commentary:  "Study 
and  obey  the  teachings  of  this  book,  choose 
your  companions  from  those  who  love  it,  and 
you  must  succeed.  You  will  be  known  by  the 
company  you  keep." 

A  load  of  wheat  was  my  transportation  car 
to  that  ''one  horse  and  wooden  town"  that 
we  had  passed  through  in  1838.  What  a 
miracle  that  seven  years  should  so  change  me 
and  the  city  I  was  to  make  my  home.  My 
first  job  came  quick,  as  a  clerk  in  the  City 
Clerk's  office,  where  I  made  millions  on 
paper,  with  my  bookkeeping,  and  quite  a 
little  sum  in  real  cash,  in  reporting  the  Coun- 
cil proceedings  for  a  weekly  paper,  as  well  as 
my  weekly  salary,  which  was  my  introduction 
into  a  mercantile  establishment.  It  was  in 
this  way:  It  so  happened  that  a  Council 
meeting  that  was  more  like  an  Irish  wake 
than  a  deliberate  body,  was  reported  facsimile, 
and  the  next  day  I  got  my  walking  papers  on 
demand  of  an  Irish  alderman.  My  wages  in 
the  new  situation  were  eight  dollars  and  my 
board,  and  I  had  reporting  fees,  also,  which 
never  kept  back  any  part  of  the  truth,  ludi- 
crous or  sober,  as  I  was  now  a  free  lance. 
My  wages    in    the    store  were  to  be  more  if 

43 


^ome  !!lccoIlettton^  of 


I  earned  them.  Having  kept  the  books, 
sold  more  goods  than  any  other  man  in  the 
house,  as  well  as  sleeping  in  the  store  after 
working  till  nine  o'clock,  and  opening  it  in  the 
morning,  I  asked  the  bargain  boss  at  the  end 
of  the  year  how  much  more  he  thought  I  had 
earned,  and  found  his  opinion  was  against  any 
bonus.  I  said,  ''Good  morning,  sir,"  and 
found  another  position  in  less  than  half  an 
hour,  at  three  times  his  generous  bargain  and 
fulfilment. 


44 


Carlt  Ci^fcaQo 


^T  one  time  the  business  men  of  Chicago 
A\  concluded  to  take  a  hand  in  the  game  of 
pontics,  and  fight  for  some  one  for  treas- 
urer who  had  not  practically  nominated  himself. 
A  meeting  was  called  in  Farwell  hall  for  that 
purpose,  and  George  Armour  was  nominated 
for  chairman.  As  he  was  about  to  take  the 
chair  the  political  boss  of  the  day,  with  a  dele- 
gation of  rowdies,  who  had  come  in  early  and 
taken  front  seats,  began  a  row  that  was  akin 
to  the  Haymarket  riot.  The  police  were  sent 
for,  but  failed  to  appear.  Finally,  C,  M. 
Henderson  elevated  J.  V.  Farwell  on  the  re- 
porter's table  and  requested  him  to  start  the 
meeting.  The  boss  and  his  disorderly  crowd 
sat  directly  in  front  to  hear  a  business  man's 
first  political  speech. 

It  began  with  the  statement  that  "the  men 
of  Chicago  who  have  made  it  what  it  is  were 
supposed  to  have  some  rights  that  political 
bosses  ought  to  respect,  until  this  meeting 
demonstrated  that  they  have  not.  The  chief 
of  police,  who  promised  to  send  twenty  police- 
men to  quiet  this  riot,  has  not  kept  his  promise 
because  some  of  his  men  are  now  in  this  meet- 
ing aiding  and  abetting  this  riot  to  prevent 
business  men   from    having  anything  to   say 

45 


^ome  iSecoIlcction^  of 


about  politics,  and  I  wish  now  to  declare 
that  such  action  and  non-action  of  our  police 
in  connection  with  this  boss  in  this  meeting 
is  the  prophecy  of  the  defeat  of  that  political 
boss  who  inaugurated  it.  In  conclusion,  I 
give  notice  that  this  meeting  is  adjourned  to 
the  polling  booths  on  election  day,  and  I  give 
you  five  minutes  to  clear  this  hall  of  your 
presence.  I  know  where  the  gas  is  turned  off, 
and  any  one  in  this  hall  after  five  minutes  will 
leave  it  in  the  dark." 

Not  another  word  was  spoken  from  the 
platform,  the  hall  was  emptied  in  the  five 
minutes,  and  the  boss  who  inaugurated  the 
riot  to  squelch  business  men,  went  to  his  de- 
feat at  the  polls. 

Years  ago,  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
present  court-house  square,  stood  the  court- 
house, a  two  story  brick  affair,  about  30  by 
60  feet,  with  steps  in  front  on  Clark  Street, 
from  side  to  side,  leading  to  the  main  floor  or 
court-room.  Here  the  officials  of  the  city  and 
county  enacted  laws  and  dispensed  justice  or 
injustice  for  this  incipient  city,  with  no  thought 
of  the  present  buildings,  covering  the  whole 
block.  The  jail  was  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  same  block  and  consisted  of  wooden 
buildings  surrounded  with  wooden  spiles,  one 
foot  in  diameter,  about  twenty-five  feet  high, 
driven  into  the  ground,  and  with  sharp  iron 
spikes  driven  into  the  top  to  instruct  prisoners 
that  society  inside  was,  by  reason  of  such  sur- 
46 


S^oljit  1^.  f  atiudl 


roundings,  all  they  could  expect  to  cultivate 
until  they  had  consumed  the  prescribed  amount 
of  bread  and  water. 

The  Chicago  waterworks  consisted  of  two- 
wheeled  carts,  each  surmounted  with  a  large 
hogshead  containing  four  or  five  barrels  of 
water.  These  were  backed  into  the  lake  and 
filled  with  a  long-handled  pail.  Then  they 
were  driven  to  the  abodes  of  customers  and 
the  water  was  drawn  out  through  a  leather 
hose  and  sold  for  so  much  a  pailful.  Later 
on  it  was  proposed  to  use  a  steam  pump  con- 
nected with  a  flouring  mill  on  the  lake  shore 
at  the  foot  of  Lake  Street  to  pump  lake  water 
through  wooden  pipes  into  a  reservoir  in  the 
alley  between  Monroe  and  Madison  streets,  90 
by  100  feet,  with  an  office  on  the  Madison 
Street  front,  35  by  60  feet.  But  the  city  grew 
so  fast  that  this  plan  was  abandoned.  Now 
this  same  lot  is  the  home  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  by  the  evolution  of 
human  events  and  ambitions,  from  which  an- 
other kind  of  water  is  distributed,  which  was 
first  dispensed  by  the  "lowly  Nazarene  "  at 
the  mouth  of  Jacob's  well.  Thus,  man  pro- 
poses but  God  disposes  of  human  projects 
and  ambitions  for  the  best  interests  of  men. 

This  was  the  first  of  the  buildings  erected 
for  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
representing  Christian  union,  and  to-day  they 
girdle  the  earth  and  are  the  best  visible  tokens 
of  the  real  unity  of  Christ's  followers.  Hence 
47 


^ome  iSecoflcction^  of 


the  fact  that  a  friend  of  this  association  ac- 
quired and  donated  this  intended  location  for 
a  water  reservoir  to  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  after  it  was  abandoned  for 
that  purpose,  marks  this  act  of  fifty  years  in 
the  past  as  a  corner-stone  of  one  of  Chicago's 
best  pubHc  institutions.  It  is  for  the  building 
up  of  character  in  young  men,  and  might  not 
have  existed  but  for  the  fact  that  the  original 
waterworks  donation  was  too  small  for  early 
Chicago's  water  supply,  though  large  enough 
for  a  building  destined  to  be  an  inspiration 
for  a  world-wide  distribution  of  the  basal  truth 
of  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth — union  and  com- 
munion of  all  His  subjects  with  Himself  and 
each  other. 

As  citizens  of  Chicago  to-day  look  at  this 
best  building  of  its  kind  in  the  world  they  can 
in  imagination  call  to  mind  those  two-wheeled 
water  carts  as  the  ancestors  of  a  reservoir  lot, 
which  was  in  turn,  by  Chicago's  rapid  strides, 
crowded  out  of  existence  as  such  and  trans- 
formed into  a  reservoir  of  spiritual  power, 
which  may  and  should  grow  in  usefulness  as 
the  city  grows  in  size. 

The  waterworks  of  to-day,  with  miles  of 
conduits  six  feet  in  diameter,  eighty  feet  under 
the  surface  and  four  miles  out  into  the  lake, 
and  mammoth  steam  pumps  to  supply  2,000,- 
000  people  with  water,  make  Chicago  the  most 
favored  city  in  the  world  in  the  direction  of 
water  supply  and  water  facihties. 
48 


S^oljn  B.  jfartpell 


There  were  no  sewers  in  early  Chicago,  but 
soon  it  was  found  to  be  absolutely  necessary 
to  have  them.  The  lake  and  the  river  were 
the  receptacles  for  the  city's  waste  material. 
They  made  the  river  black  as  a  coal  and  with  an 
odor  in  warm  weather  that  was  a  reminder  of 
the  ''black  hole  of  Calcutta."  Now  the  drain- 
age canal  —  destined  to  be  a  ship  canal  — 
makes  the  river  a  good  fishing  ground,  the 
lake  pouring  its  wealth  of  pure  water  into  it 
at  the  rate  of  three  miles  an  hour. 

Roman  roads  made  the  world  one,  as  it 
never  had  been  before,  but  they  were  not  con- 
structed on  plans  devised  by  the  city  fathers 
of  Chicago.  The  city  was  a  marsh  in  wet 
weather.  "No  bottom  here  !"  was  a  sign  fre- 
quently displayed  to  warn  unwary  country 
teamsters  not  to  bury  themselves  without  a 
coroner's  jury  to  determine  the  cause  of  the 
untimely  burial.  It  was  not  uncommon  for 
empty  wagons  to  be  stalled  in  Lake  Street  with 
several  yoke  of  oxen  as  bad  off  as  the  wagons. 

The  first  Chicago  road  to  overcome  too 
much  dampness  was  Randolph  Street,  as  a 
sort  of  center  of  the  city.  The  street  was 
dug  down,  about  three  feet  below  the  natural 
surface,  and  then  planked  over,  so  that  all 
rain-water  ran  off  the  lots  into  this  mam- 
moth open  reservoir  and  thus  into  the  river 
and  lake.  In  driving  a  loaded  wagon  over 
the  planks  a  shower  bath  of  muddy  water 
went  up  through  the  cracks  and  came  down 

49 


^ome  ftccoHection^  of 


on  the  horses,  the  driver,  and  the  contents  of 
the  wagon. 

The  possibiUty  of  an  elevated  instead  of  a 
dug-out  road,  with  asphalt  instead  of  plank 
covering,  was  not  in  the  alphabet  of  makers  of 
public  highways  in  those  times.  Such  plans 
did  not  get  a  hearing  with  public  men  until  the 
great  fire  of  1871  made  debris  enough  to  raise 
the  streets,  and  also  to  make  forty  acres  of  new 
land  on  the  lake  front.  When  these  roads  be- 
came inadequate  for  the  traffic,  horse  railroads 
came  to  the  front,  and  now  electric  lines  are 
supplemented  with  elevated  railroads,  and  still 
Chicago  streets  are  congested  and  subways  are 
inevitable  in  the  future. 

Let  present-day  citizens  go  back  in  imagi- 
nation to  early  times  in  Chicago,  and  see  ox 
and  horse  teams  stuck  in  Lake  Street  mud,  and 
remember  that  many  men  are  still  living  who 
saw  such  sights  as  common  occurrences  of 
everyday  life  whenever  a  little  extra  moisture 
was  mixed  with  Chicago's  native  soil,  and  then 
let  them  bless  their  stars  for  present-day  public 
works. 

The  only  public  hall  was  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  Lake  and  Clark  streets,  in  the  third 
story,  and  was  large  enough  for  most  gather- 
ings, but  when  Douglas  and  Lincoln  had  a 
hearing  in  Chicago  all  outdoors  was  needed, 
and  the  balcony  of  a  hotel  was  their  platform. 
When  Lincoln  was  nominated  for  President, 
Chicago,  with  commendable  enterprise,  built 
50 


S^ol^n  B.  f  artoell 


"the  Wigwam,"  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
Lake  and  Market  streets,  to  accommodate  sev- 
eral thousand  people,  for  that  special  purpose. 
This  site  is  now  the  home  of  one  of  the  oldest 
and  largest  grocery  houses  in  the  city. 

It  was  fitting  that  Lincoln,  who  fought  In- 
dians on  the  prairies  of  Illinois  when  Chicago 
was  an  Indian  trading  post,  should  be  chosen 
President  in  a  wigwam  built  by  his  friends  in 
this  city,  instead  of  Seward,  who  little  knew 
how  soon  this  late  Indian  territory  would  give 
us  a  president  and  general  who  would  remake 
our  country  into  a  world  power,  arbiter  of 
peace  and  prosperity  for  all  nations.  Lincoln 
and  Grant  may  be  classed  with  Chicago's 
"public  works,"  for  the  good  of  our  country 
as  well  as  of  the  world  —  not  made  of  brick 
and  mortar,  but  in  a  mold  second  only  to  that 
of  the  gods. 

**Long  John"  Wentworth  stood  head  and 
shoulders  above  most  of  his  contemporaries, 
not  only  in  stature  but  as  a  conspicuous  char- 
acter, as  editor  of  the  De??iocrat  and  as  a  po- 
litical aspirant;  the  one  occupation  paving  the 
way  to  the  other  and  making  him  at  one  time 
mayor,  and  then  a  member  of  Congress. 

Charles  B.  Farwell,  as  head  of  the  so-called 
''court-house  clique" — which  gave  the  county 
and  the  city  better  governments  than  they 
have  ever  had  since  then — was  potent  in  city 
and  county  politics,  and  as  the  city  grew  in 
importance,  state  and  national  politicians  nat- 

51 


^omc  UtttAltttim^  of 


urally  sought  his  influence.  Norman  B.  Judd 
and  he,  together,  gave  "Long  John"  many  a 
taste  of  their  mettle.  Both  ultimately  went 
to  Congress,  in  spite  of  his  opposition,  and 
C.  B.  Farwell,  as  an  opposing  candidate,  which 
would  indicate  at  that  time  the  relative  stand- 
ing of  each.  Afterward  Mr.  Farwell  went  to 
the  Senate. 

From  a  farmer  boy  having  nothing  to  start 
with  but  a  good,  practical  education  and  New 
England  training  and  grit,  he  went  through 
all  the  stages  of  politics  except  the  presidency, 
and  some  of  his  friends  talked  of  him  as  a 
presidential  candidate.  He  added  business  to 
politics  in  1865.  Now,  in  his  80th  year,  he 
is  the  last  of  Chicago's  notable  politicians 
living,  and  one  of  the  few  business  men  re- 
maining who  saw  Randolph  Street  made  into 
a  mammoth  sewer  and  a  roadbed  at  the  same 
time.  Norman  B.  Judd,  who  nominated  Lin- 
coln for  President  in  the  wigwam,  and  was 
later  appointed  minister  to  the  German  empire, 
was  one  of  his  trusted  political  friends. 

Augustus  Garrett,  whose  wife  endowed  Gar- 
rett Biblical  Institute,  was  mayor  of  Chicago, 
a  very  able  man,  full  of  humor,  and,  while  not 
a  Methodist,  honored  his  wife  by  escorting 
her  to  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  giving  liberally  to  its  support.  His  office 
was  headquarters  for  real-estate  dealers,  as 
well  as  gentlemen  of  leisure.  As  an  instance 
of  his  humor,  a  well-known  young  man,  of 
52 


Sfoljn  1^.  f  artoeO 


fastidious  taste  and  manners,  came  into  his 
office  and  related  his  experience  at  a  show, 
where  a  man  had  broken  eggs  into  a  stranger's 
hat.  Presto!  change,  when  a  mysterious  flock 
of  wand-birds  flew  out  of  the  hat  and  left  it 
as  clean  as  when  the  owner  had  handed  it  up 
for  the  purpose.  "Well,"  said  Mayor  Gar- 
rett, **ril  bet  you  five  dollars  that  I  can  do 
that  myself,  if  you  will  go  and  get  a  half- 
dozen  eggs." 

The  bet  was  taken  and  the  eggs  were  pro- 
duced in  due  time,  when  Mayor  Garrett  took 
the  faultless  stovepipe  hat  from  the  young 
man's  head  and  at  once  broke  the  eggs  into  it. 
Taking  a  ruler  from  his  desk  he  stirred  them 
up  well  and  then  waved  the  mystic  wand  over 
the  hat,  calling  the  birds  into  active  exposi- 
tion. When  they  did  not  appear,  as  in  the 
show,  he  remarked,  with  an  expletive,  *T 
thought  I  could,  but  I  find  I  cannot.  Here  is 
the  money  to  buy  you  a  new  hat,  for  I  see 
this  one  is  unfit  to  wear  just  now." 

Dr.  Maxwell  was  a  burly  figure  of  300 
pounds  avoirdupois  and  of  the  allopathic  fra- 
ternity. When  the  homeopathy  cult  came  out 
with  their  highly  diluted  medicines,  this  old- 
school  practitioner  declared  that  he  could  di- 
agnose their  method  of  preparing  medicine 
and  giving  it.  Said  he:  "You  take  an  ounce 
vial  of  arnica  or  any  other  medicine  of  the 
sixtieth  dilution  and  go  to  the  end  of  the  Chi- 
cago pier.  Pour  it  out  slowly  into  the  lake. 
53 


^omc  flecoHecticm^  of 


Then  walk  very  leisurely  to  Twelfth  Street  and 
take  a  pint  of  water  from  the  lake.  Give  two 
drops  of  it  every  three  weeks  and  you  have  a 
fair  description  of  the  new  cult's  methods." 
But  allopaths  give  much  less  medicine  than 
formerly. 

Dr.  Egan  was  an  allopathic  contemporary, 
and  gave  Chicago  citizens  the  first  example  of 
a  beautiful  suburban  home,  with  the  most  elab- 
orate ornamental  grounds,  near  what  is  now 
Hyde  Park  —  quite  a  new  thing  for  our  "mud 
city." 

The  spectacular  figure  of  the  medical  fra- 
ternity was  Dr.  Pitney,  who  regularly  paraded 
the  principal  streets  on  an  elegantly  capar- 
isoned horse,  usually  in  a  slow  walk  or  a 
furious  canter.  My  first  serious  indisposition 
was  when  Fremont  was  candidate  for  Presi- 
dent. The  election  was  three  days  off,  and  I 
wanted  to  vote  that  ticket  as  my  first  one  for 
President.  My  wife  saw  this  doctor  riding  by 
and  proposed  to  call  him  in,  to  which  I  as- 
sented. I  said  to  him:  *Tf  you  will  get  me 
out  to  vote  I  will  seriously  consider  a  change 
of  physicians."  He  agreed  to  it  and  I  voted 
for  Fremont,  and  the  herb  doctor  of  my 
youthful  days  was  discharged. 

Dr.  N.  S.  Davis  was  then  and  always  has 
been  a  conspicuous  character.  He  never  has 
had  any  use  for  horses,  his  own  powers  of 
locomotion  being  equal  to  a  large  practice. 
He  has  always  been  a  champion  of  the  temper- 
54 


3Fo|)n  B.  f  artocll 


ance  cause  from  scientific  and  practical  rea- 
sons. His  sometimes  keen  run  to  see  a  patient 
was  a  fair  sample  of  his  enthusiasm  in  all  good 
works,  as  in  his  own  practice.  How  much 
temperance  in  all  things  has  had  to  do  in  the 
make-up  of  his  splendid  physique  and  his  octo- 
genarian spinning  out  of  the  brittle  thread  of 
life  may  well  be  the  study  of  young  men. 

In  business  circles,  Charles  Walker,  H.  O. 
Stone,  and  John  P.  Chapin  were  conspicuous 
in  the  grain  and  warehouse  business;  George 
Smith  as  the  principal  banker,  J.  H.  Dunham  as 
the  main  man  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business, 
and  E.  S.  Wadsworth,  Thomas  Dyer,  and 
Washington  Smith  in  the  wholesale  dry  goods 
business,  which  then  included  hats  and  caps, 
boots  and  shoes,  in  Wadsworth's  house.  The 
principal  retailer  was  T,  B.  Carter,  who  dealt  in 
drygoods.  These  men  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  present  mammoth  business  houses  and  are 
remembered  by  many  citizens  now  living. 

Hotels  were  seven  by  nine  affairs  until  Ira 
Couch  built  theTremont  House,  and  then  many 
a  conservative  citizen  prophesied  that  it  would 
ruin  him.  It  did  look  huge  for  a  city  that  had 
very  few  paved  streets,  but,  though  the  proph- 
ecy seemed  well  conceived,  the  hotel  had  no 
competitor  in  kind,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
every  one  saw  that  Ira  Couch  had  a  better  men- 
tal revelation  of  Chicago's  needs  in  that  line 
than  any  of  his  contemporaries.  He  was  hon- 
ored accordingly  when  facts  proved  his  wisdom. 

55 


J^ome  jSecoHection^  of 


As  always,  lawyers  were  more  numerous 
than  clients,  but  among  them  were  bright 
minds  that  saw  the  future  and  chose  Chicago  as 
headquarters  in  the  Northwest.  Among  them 
were  J.  Y.  Scammon,  N.  B.  Judd,  E.  C. 
Larned,  Hugh  T.  Dickey,  Mark  Skinner,  and 
George  Manierre,  and  the  last  three  soon  were 
made  judges,  to  hear  such  men  as  J.  Y. 
Scammon,  Lisle  Smith,  Judge  Goodrich,  and  a 
host  of  others,  argue  cases  before  them.  Oc- 
casionally Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Springfield,  had 
a  call  to  aid  in  important  cases. 

Paper  money  first  appeared  in  the  dark  ages, 
as  a  certificate  of  deposit  for  silver  coin,  to 
prevent  their  being  clipped.  A  Scotch  finan- 
cier, named  George  Smith,  whose  bank  was  in 
Milwaukee,  improved  on  this  plan  by  issuing 
certificates  of  deposit,  payable  on  demand, 
with  no  deposit  of  coin  behind  them.  Thus 
he  gave  Chicago  and  the  Northwest  a  good 
medium  of  exchange,  for  the  certificates  were 
always  redeemed  in  coin  when  presented. 

Wealth,  thus  nurtured,  grew  apace,  and  pol- 
iticians, as  usual,  attempted  to  give  a  chance 
to  envious  aspirants  for  financial  success  to 
compete  with  the  only  sound  banker  we  had 
in  those  days.  So  they  passed  a  law  allowing 
anyone  who  could  buy  $100,000  in  Southern 
state  bonds  to  issue  bank  bills  on  them  and 
foist  them  on  the  public  as  money.  Most  of 
these  banks  were  located  where  it  required 
bloodhounds  to  find  them,  and  when  found 
56 


9^Dl)n  B.  f  artDell 


there  was  no  coin  to  redeem  their  bills.  By 
some  legerdemain,  unknown  to  the  uninitiated, 
the  first  $100,000  of  bill  bought  another  $ioo,- 
000  in  Southern  state  bonds,  and  so  on,  until 
the  shrewdest  financier  in  that  line  had  out 
$1,000,000  or  more  of  bills,  and  had  nothing 
with  which  to  redeem  them. 

One  Chicago  lawyer  turned  financier,  and 
to  do  it  honestly,  issued  his  bills  in  Chi- 
cago. He  meant  to  be  honest,  he  was  hon- 
est, and,  being  well  known,  his  bills  were  well 
received,  and  no  one  asked  for  coin  on  them. 
One  sad  day  for  him  he  gathered  up  all  of 
George  Smith's  bills  that  were  deposited  with 
him  and  paid  Smith  a  business,  not  a  social, 
visit,  with  a  carpetbag  full  of  them,  and  de- 
manded coin  then  and  there,  though  the  bills 
were  issued  and  were  payable  in  Milwaukee. 
Smith  invited  the  caller  inside,  not  to  take  a 
drink,  but  to  show  him  ninety  per  cent  of  his 
own  bills,  circulating  only  within  the  diameter 
of  Smith's  money  vault.  That  vision  entirely 
cured  a  rabid  appetite  for  coin.  It  was  not 
long  before  he  relapsed  into  law  and  religion, 
with  no  overmastering  ambition  to  furnish 
Chicago  and  the  Northwest  with  currency. 

Not  so  with  other  state  bankers  whose 
offices  were  now  established.  Their  circula- 
tion grew  apace  until  George  Smith  was  com- 
pelled to  go  to  Georgia  to  issue  his  currency, 
in  order  to  beat  them  at  their  own  game  of 
hide-and-seek  locations.  As  the  country  had 
57 


^omc  iUecoIlection^  of 


grown  so  rapidly,  there  was,  for  a  time,  room 
for  it  all,  until  finally  our  state  currency  in- 
creased until  it  would  not  buy  a  dinner  across 
the  state  line.  It  then  dawned  upon  the  busi- 
ness men  that  all  they  had  was  Southern  state 
bonds,  cut  up  into  one  dollar  and  ten  dollar 
promises  to  pay  coin,  and  not  a  dollar  of  coin 
to  do  it  with.  Then  the  great  business  panic 
of  1857-58  threatened  the  city  and  state  with 
bankruptcy.  Exchange  on  New  York  for 
Chicago  was  lO  to  25  premium  with  a  demand 
for  it  twenty  times  greater  than  the  supply. 

The  capitalist  of  the  largest  mercantile 
house  in  Chicago  said  to  his  manager:  "There 
is  only  one  way  out  and  that  is  to  make  an  as- 
signment and  then  work  out  of  this  currency 
earthquake  the  best  way  we  can."  Upon 
further  consultation  it  was  decided  that  with  a 
constantly  falling  currency  every  one  would 
wish  to  pay  debts  with  it,  so  that  collections 
could  easily  be  made.  Another  controlling 
fact  was  that  the  country  was  full  of  wheat. 
These  two  factors  furnished  material  for  a 
programme  to  pay  at  maturity  instead  of 
making  an  assignment.  Wheat  was  taken 
at  five  cents  a  bushel  more  than  cash  buyers 
could  give  in  the  country,  and  every  one  was 
urged  to  send  either  wheat  or  money.  The 
money  was  put  into  wheat  as  soon  as  re- 
ceived and  became  legal  tender  in  New  York 
for  all  debtors  who  tendered  it  through  the 
markets —  and  they  were  not  a  few.  It  was  not 
58 


S^of)n  B.  f  arbDril 


a  case  of  buying  options  on  'change,  in  those 
early  days,  but  only  the  real  thing  was  bought. 
Those  merchants  who  pursued  this  plan  paid 
their  debts  at  maturity  and  after  that  time 
were  put  down  on  the  mercantile  agency  re- 
ports, **as  good  as  wheat." 

After  this  chaos  would  be  a  good  name  for 
currency  conditions  until  the  inception  of  the 
Civil  War  gave  us  greenbacks  and  United 
States  bank  notes,  based  on  war  bonds,  in- 
stead of  Southern  state  bonds.  The  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  length  and  result  of  the 
war  —  bankers  are  always  very  conservative  — 
reduced  their  value,  as  compared  with  gold, 
to  thirty-three  cents  on  the  dollar  at  one  time, 
but  the  country  kept  on  raising  corn  and 
wheat,  which  was  legal  tender  everywhere  in 
the  markets  of  the  world,  and  at  last,  as  in 
ante  war  times,  they  saved  the  Union.  Then 
the  currency  had  a  history  like  that  of  the 
Illinois  state  currency,  with  the  board  of  trade 
and  a  wheat  market  for  our  only  clearing 
house  of  debts,  big  and  Httle  —  with  this 
difference,  that  the  currency  stayed  by  us 
instead  of  vanishing,  and  increased  in  value 
constantly  until  it  was  as  good  as  gold. 

The  Board  of  Trade  in  early  times  was  on 
the  river  at  the  corner  of  South  Water  and 
La  Salle  streets,  quite  in  contrast  with  its 
present  building  and  location. 

George  Smith  died  in  London  not  long  ago 
worth  a  fortune  of  over  $50,000,000,  the  cor- 

59 


^ome  iSctolIccttDn^  of 


ner-stone  of  which  was  laid  in  Chicago  with 
the  only  business  currency  methods  that  were 
possible  at  that  time.  His  ability  and  honesty 
made  his  promises  to  pay  as  good  as  gold, 
despite  the  raw  condition  then  existing  and  the 
meager  capital  then  engaged  in  business.  He 
saw  his  opportunity,  seized  it,  filled  the  bill, 
and  in  so  doing,  more  than  any  other  man,  laid 
the  foundations  of  Chicago's  present  business 
and  wealth. 

"Money  makes  the  mare  go."  A  good  sub- 
stitute for  the  real  article  sometimes  fills  the 
bill  much  better  than  an  inadequate  supply 
of  coin.  Chicago  from  the  forties,  and  the 
United  States  from  the  sixties  have  given 
ample  proof  that  this  proposition  is  sound  and 
practical.  Chicago  has  grown  from  a  village 
into  a  metropolitan  city  within  the  lifetime  of 
men  who  are  to-day  among  its  leading  mer- 
chants. Before  railroads  came  in,  imagine 
Lake  Street  so  full  of  wheat  teams  of  a  morn- 
ing that  it  was  difficult  to  drive  a  buggy 
through  them,  and  you  have  a  scene  that  was 
of  common  occurrence  in  those  days.  Orring- 
ton  Lunt  and  Charles  Walker  had  the  two 
principal  grain  warehouses  for  storage  and 
shipment  to  New  York.  Agents  of  ware- 
houses passed  through  the  streets  as  buyers, 
and  when  the  grain  was  delivered  farmers 
were  paid  off  at  the  retail  stores,  which  did 
this  work  for  the  privilege  of  selling  the  farm- 
ers their  supplies. 

60 


S^ofjn  B.  f  artoell 


When  a  railroad  was  commenced  one  of 
these  retail  men  declared  that  it  would  spoil 
the  trade  of  Chicago,  as  farmers  would  buy 
their  goods  in  the  country. 

Merchants"  were  in  the  habit  of  going  to  the 
Tremont  House  of  an  evening  to  solicit  trade. 
One  of  them,  a  partner  in  the  pioneer  whole- 
sale business,  who  was  a  member  of  the  state 
senate,  said  to  this  retailer:  *'I  can  fix  this 
business  so  you  will  always  have  the  country 
trade.  You  get  up  a  petition  and  send  it  to 
me  asking  the  legislature  to  pass  a  law  com- 
pelhng  the  farmers  hereafter  to  bring  their 
wheat  to  Chicago  in  two-bushel  baskets.  I 
will  have  it  passed  and  that  will  stop  railroad 
building  and  you  will  have  it  all  your  own 
way."  That  particular  retail  dealer  soon 
went  out  of  business.  Chicago  was  much  too 
big,  even  then,  for  his  genius,  and  has  been  too 
big  for  that  kind  of  merchants  ever  since. 

The  building  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
Canal  was  the  first  inroad  on  wagon  transpor- 
tation, and  the  arrival  of  the  first  canal  boat, 
in  1848,  was  celebrated  by  the  turning  out  of 
nearly  the  whole  population.  Both  sides  of 
the  river  were  lined  with  people,  from  Lake 
Street  to  Monroe  Street,  to  see  the  innova- 
tion, as  a  practical  protest  against  two-bushel 
basket  transportation  for  farm  products.  The 
largest  wholesale  grocery  houses  were  located 
at  Ottawa,  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Illi- 
nois River.  The  principal  one  of  these  gro- 
61 


^ome  iSecoIlection^  of 


cers,  on  his  first  visit  to  Chicago  on  this  canal, 
saw  on  the  door  of  one  of  his  customers 
an  advertisement  for  a  bookkeeper,  and  jo- 
cosely applied  for  the  place.  Having  been 
accepted  he  asked  for  the  key  to  the  safe  and 
at  once  proceeded  to  put  all  the  books  in  that 
receptacle  for  safe-keeping,  saying:  "That  is 
the  way  I  keep  books."  And  it  was  not  long 
before  his  books  were  kept  that  way,  his  busi- 
ness having  taken  canal  transportation,  and 
made  the  trip  to  Chicago  for  a  permanent 
location. 

Everybody  sang  the  praises  of  the  canal  as 
the  first  boom  for  Chicago  coming  from  the 
Southwest.  Like  scenes  were  of  weekly  occur- 
rence when  lake  boats  from  Buffalo  landed  at 
their  dock  with  immigrants  and  merchandise. 
Such  scenes  were  the  event  of  the  week,  add- 
ing as  they  did  both  to  Chicago's  population 
and  wealth,  till  some  men  were  optimistic 
enough  to  predict  that  some  day  Chicago 
would  have  100,000  population. 

One  merchant  of  that  way  of  thinking  added 
real  estate  to  his  business,  using  the  evenings 
for  auction  sales.  He  was  accused  of  whole- 
sale lying  as  to  Chicago's  future  prosperity  in 
making  his  sales,  and  was  reminded  of  it  sev- 
eral years  afterwards  in  the  lobby  of  the  Tre- 
mont  House.  Thereupon  he  remarked:  "True, 
I  intended  to  lie,  but  you  will  all  agree  now 
that  this  town  has  conspired  with  destiny  to 
indorse  me  as  a  truthful  as  well  as  a  modest 
62 


S^oftn  15.  f  artuell 


man,  and  I  shall  expect  my  customers  to  erect 
a  monument  to  my  memory,  as  having  laid  the 
foundation  of  their  fortunes." 

Commerce  grew  apace  until  scores  of  ves- 
sels were  docked  in  Chicago  every  winter.  It 
so  happened  one  spring  that  melted  snow  and 
heavy  rains  turned  the  swollen  Desplaines 
River  into  the  Chicago  River,  breaking  up  the 
ice  with  a  rise  so  rapid  that  more  than  fifty 
vessels  were  broken  from  their  docks,  and  at 
the  bend  of  the  river,  at  River  and  Rush 
streets,  were  wedged  in  till  those  on  the  out- 
side were  hoisted  partly  out  of  water,  making 
their  masts  collide  with  the  masts  of  those  in 
the  center,  till  their  cracking  noises  resembled 
the  firing  of  heavy  guns. 

The  streets  of  Chicago  at  that  time  were 
several  feet  lower  than  they  are  now  and  the 
Tremont  House's  lower  story  was  flooded 
with  water  from  the  river.  Soon  after  this,  in 
1859,  George  M.  Pullman  took  the  contract 
to  raise  that  then  mammoth  brick  building  one 
whole  story  with  3,000  screws.  It  was  the 
wonder  of  the  day  to  see  it  rise  slowly,  while 
business  was  carried  on  during  the  process 
without  interruption. 


63 


I 


nmin 


*  ij 

nnun 
iflftl 


THE   FIRST   BUSINESS  HOUSE  OF 
COOLEY,  FARWELL   &   CO. 


(Sai:lt  iBujSinesisi  meminijicencejs 


^S  I  look  back  over  my  business  life,  a 
/-\  flood  of  memories  comes  over  me,  to 
verify  the  fact  that  **if  one's  foresight 
was  only  as  good  as  his  hindsight,"  how  many 
pages,  black  with  disappointment  and  regrets, 
might  be  luminous  with  success  in  every  re- 
spect of  the  enchanting  word.  Yet  the  mis- 
takes a  man  makes  are  often  the  corner-stones 
of  that  success.  It  is  only  the  man  who  loses 
confidence  in  himself,  because  of  them,  that  is 
obliged  to  make  an  assignment  for  the  benefit 
of  his  creditors;  but  the  man  who  trains  his 
guns  of  grit,  grace,  and  gumption  upon  ap- 
parently insurmountable  difficulties  will  carry 
their  strongholds  in  due  time;  and  to  begin 
with  nothing  but  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound 
body,  instead  of  one  million  dollars,  is  the  best 
capital  a  young  man  can  have  for  his  gun- 
carriages  and  ammunition. 

At  all  events,  that  has  been  my  experience 
in  fifty- four  years  of  business  life.  The  fail- 
ure of  the  firm  that  first  gave  me  a  chance, 
in  1847,  through  a  fire,  proved  to  be  my  in- 
troduction to  the  one  that  is  now  the  John  V. 
Farwell  Company. 

When  I  was  the  junior  partner  of  that  firm, 
of  which  I  was  the  general  manager  at  twenty- 
65 


^ome  JSecollecticm^  of 


five  years  of  age,  the  "stumptail  currency" 
was  the  only  money  in  existence  in  Chicago. 
At  one  time  a  man  could  not  pay  with  this 
money  for  a  dinner  across  the  state  line.  The 
Merchants'  Association  of  Chicago  made  war 
on  it  in  the  legislature,  two  years  before  the 
final  liquidation  of  it  in  a  great  panic,  and 
placed  an  independent  paper,  of  which  I  was 
the  editor,  on  the  desk  of  each  member,  with 
the  competent  facts  and  arguments  to  show 
that  liquidation  then  by  law  would  save  a  busi- 
ness liquidation  of  it  with  much  greater  losses 
when  it  did  come;  but  to  no  effect.  The  moon- 
shine bankers'  money  did  the  work  of  staving 
off  the  liquidation,  and  in  adding  one  hundred 
per  cent  to  the  losses  made  in  doing  it,  to  the 
business  community.  Bankers  charged  from 
ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent  for  New  York  ex- 
change, when  merchants'  debts  had  to  be  paid, 
and  even  at  that,  only  in  limited  amounts  could 
it  be  obtained. 

We  were  then  at  205  South  Water  Street. 
Our  goods  were  hoisted  into  the  second  floor 
with  a  rope  elevator,  but  the  business  grew  so 
fast  that  Mr.  Cooley  and  myself  determined 
to  move  to  Wabash  Avenue  as  soon  as  we 
could  build  a  larger  store  with  a  steam  ele- 
vator. We  had  no  commercial  agencies  at 
that  time  to  report  on  the  credit  and  capital 
of  country  merchants,  which  made  it  neces- 
sary to  depend  on  our  own  judgment  of  the 
honesty  and  ability  of  customers  from  their 
66 


3^of)n  B.  f  artDell 


own  statements.  Consequently  when  spring 
and  fall  busy  sale  seasons  were  over,  it  was  my 
custom  to  visit  as  many  of  them  as  possible, 
with  horse  and  buggy  conveyance,  until  rail- 
roads were  built.  On  one  such  trip,  out  near 
Galena,  I  was  belated  and  took  the  wrong  road, 
which  led  through  the  woods  to  a  settler's 
cabin,  at  nine  o'clock  at  night.  I  was  hospitably 
entertained,  sleeping  on  the  floor  near  the  fire, 
while  the  whole  family  betook  themselves  to 
their  beds  in  the  same  room.  I  was  very 
glad  to  take  what  I  could  get,  and  slept  well 
for  a  lost  commercial  traveling  salesman,  two 
hundred  miles  away  from  home. 

I  have  often  made  sixty  miles  a  day  with  a 
single  horse  and  buggy  on  such  trips.  I  re- 
member making  a  sale  to  a  man  from  Peoria, 
whom  I  later  found  drunk  at  the  Tremont 
House,  on  my  evening  drumming  excursions. 
In  the  morning,  when  he  came  for  his  goods,  I 
informed  him  of  my  discovery,  and  said  that  I 
should  be  obliged  to  decHne  delivering  them. 
He  begged  so  hard  and  promised  so  faith- 
fully that  he  would  never  drink  again,  if  I 
would  deliver  the  goods,  that  I  took  the  risk. 
Twenty  years  after  that,  on  a  railroad  trip  to 
Milwaukee,  I  had  left  my  spectacles  at  home, 
and  discovered  my  carelessness  after  buying  a 
paper  to  read.  My  next  seat  neighbor  saw 
my  predicament,  and  offered  me  his,  which  I 
gratefully  accepted.  On  my  returning  them, 
he  politely  asked  me  to  keep  them  as  a  memento 
67 


S>tnnt  JSetoIlection^  of 


of  my  kindness  to  him  twenty  years  before, 
which  he  had  never  forgotten.  I  did  not  know 
him  until  he  reminded  me  of  that  incident  in  his 
commercial  history,  as  the  beginning  of  a  great 
success  in  business,  and  when  I  afterwards 
went  to  Peoria  to  a  Sunday  school  conven- 
tion, I  found  him  an  ardent  Y.  M.  C.  A.  man 
and  a  wholesale  dealer  in  notions.  So  it  paid 
to  take  a  business  risk  on  moral  grounds,  in 
this  instance,  at  least. 

Again  the  new  store  became  too  small  for 
our  business,  after  Mr.  Cooley  had  retired. 
During  the  war  we  had  taken  in  as  partners 
Marshall  Field  and  Levi  Z.  Leiter,  who  had 
been  our  clerks  for  several  years,  lending  them 
$100,000  each,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war 
they  retired  from  the  firm  and  bought  out 
Potter  Palmer. 

The  result  was  the  beginning  of  a  rapid  de- 
velopment of  the  wholesale  trade  in  Chicago, 
which  has  never  been  checked,  because  of  a 
healthy  competition  similar  to  that  in  New 
York,  until  now  it  is  the  leading  wholesale 
market  of  the  United  States,  compelHng  com- 
mission merchants  of  the  East  to  open  houses 
in  Chicago  to  meet  its  demands.  We  had  pro- 
phesied this  years  before,  and  were  met  with 
the  statement,  "Wind,  wind."  It  is  quite  true 
that  this  opinion  of  Chicago  was  not  confined 
to  New  York.  Milwaukee,  Cincinnati,  and  St. 
Louis  emphasized  it  more  than  New  York, 
until  Chicago  had  so  far  outstripped  them  all 
68 


3^of)n  B.  f  artDefl 


that  such  remarks  would  only  demonstrate 
their  imbecility  in  ignoring  established  facts. 
Dining  some  years  ago  at  Delmonico's,  with  a 
Chicago  friend  who  had  a  New  York  friend 
with  him,  whose  next-door  neighbor,  also  of 
New  York,  was  characterizing  Chicago  in  the 
most  scorching  terms  as  a  one-horse  town  of 
the  balloon  order,  our  New  York  companion 
said  to  this  eloquent  defamer  of  the  Western 
metropolis,  **My  Chicago  friend  by  my  side 
will  not  enjoy  such  remarks."  '*Oh  yes,  I 
will,"  said  he,  '*I  have  heard  them  from  Mil- 
waukee, Cincinnati,  and  St.  Louis,  until  they 
have  been  squelched  by  our  supremacy,  and 
now  it  is  perfectly  proper  for  New  York  to  do 
it,  after  taking  in  Jersey  City,  Brooklyn,  and 
all  adjoining  suburbs,  in  order  to  keep  up  with 
our  population.  But  she  will  soon  join  our 
western  towns  in  silent  recognition  of  our 
supremacy,  notwithstanding  these  additions, 
and  then  I  suppose  London  will  become  jeal- 
ous and  treat  us  in  the  same  way,  until  Chicago 
shall  be  the  acknowledged  center  of  business 
and  population  for  our  little  planet,  and  then  I 
suppose  some  planet  a  little  larger  than  ours 
will  also  become  jealous." 

The  next  new  store  was  at  J 2,  74,  and  76 
Wabash  Avenue.  One  year  before  the  great 
fire  it  was  burned  up,  and  rebuilt,  to  be  again 
wiped  out  by  fire.  An  attempt  was  made 
after  that  fire  to  acquire  the  adjoining  corner, 
north,  which  failed.  This  caused  the  removal 
69 


^ome  MtttAltttxm$  of 


to  Monroe  Street,  near  the  river,  where  a  two- 
story  warehouse  and  stable  were  located, 
whose  walls  were  intact,  and  it  took  but  a  very 
short  time  for  a  five-story  structure  to  rise 
upon  its  ruins.  Meanwhile  the  balance  of  the 
half  block  joining  it  on  either  side  was  ac- 
quired and  built  on  in  due  time.  While  this 
was  being  built,  the  business  was  carried  on  in 
a  wood  shed  on  Michigan  Avenue.  There 
happened  to  be  a  coal  cellar  under  it,  which 
was  supposed  to  have  been  divested  of  its  fire 
by  water,  but  in  a  few  days  the  smouldering 
fire  broke  out  and  threatened  another  fire 
annihilation.  But  it  was  extinguished  with 
little  damage. 

AFTER  THE  FIRE 

The  next  day  after  the  great  fire,  a  mer- 
chants' meeting  was  called  to  consider  the 
situation,  and  to  act  in  concert.  A  wholesale 
liquor  dealer  counseled  an  assignment  as  the 
only  method  to  deal  with  it.  C.  B.  Farwell 
had  been  called  to  the  chair,  and  after  this 
cowardly  suggestion  I  was  called  for,  and  as 
near  as  I  can  recollect  counseled  as  follows: 
"Let  us  first  ascertain  how  each  one  stands, 
and  then  ask  such  an  extension  as  corresponds 
with  the  condition  of  each,  and  then  make  the 
ashes  of  the  fire  the  basis  for  rebuilding  Chi- 
cago with  fire-proof  buildings  as  near  as  it  is 
possible.  Such  a  program  will  gain  the  con- 
fidence and  support  of  creditors  to  any  needed 
70 


folm  W.  f artoell 


extent,  while  to  sit  down  and  cry  over  spilt 
milk  would  only  acquire  their  contempt  instead 
of  their  needed  help."  The  meeting  was  unani- 
mous, with  the  exception  of  the  one  liquor 
man,  in  recommending  and  carrying  out  such 
action. 

Our  firm's  removal  to  the  new  wholesale 
center  was  followed  by  Field  &  Leiter  and 
other  concerns,  and  transformed  one  of  the 
worst  parts  of  Chicago  into  a  business  district 
which  has  kept  its  new  character  ever  since. 
C.  B.  Farwell  and  myself  bought,  in  all,  more 
than  three  blocks  in  the  new  district,  and  in 
the  rise  in  value  more  than  recouped  three 
fire  losses.  In  a  few  years  our  new  quarters, 
comprising  two-thirds  of  a  half-block  200  by 
190  feet,  became  too  small,  and  the  block  now 
occupied  by  the  John  V.  Farwell  Co.  was 
built,  275  by  400  feet  on  the  ground,  with 
eight  stories,  including  basement  and  sub-base- 
ment. The  excavations  were  made  in  March, 
and  the  first  of  January  following  it  was  occu- 
pied. There  are  tw^enty-seven  acres  of  plas- 
tering in  the  building  and  no  building  of  its 
character  and  size  was  ever  built  in  Chicago  in 
so  short  a  time.  A  part  of  the  Market  Street 
front  is  rented,  but  may  some  time  be  all  occu- 
pied as  one  wholesale  house,  until  sweeping 
changes  become  necessary  to  meet  new  condi- 
tions arising  from  continued  growth. 


71 


03^..  .^^^. 


^  y^^       .;^^  y^ 


COOIiEY,  FAlfWEI.Ii   &  CO. 

Wboiasate  Biy  Goods, 


<j^C  .s-^v^ 


.5^ 


y. 


o^ 


.c^X 


f> 


'cf/rr^ 


M^^  ^^y  ^,S^:^.-^^ 


^^-^^.^ 


Ci^e  (0reat  mat 


CHICAGO  sent  the  first  regiment  into 
instant  service  on  the  order  of  Gov- 
ernor Yates,  after  Sumter  was  fired  on, 
to  take  and  hold  Cairo,  and  if  it  had  arrived 
there  forty-eight  hours  later  than  it  did,  the 
rebels  v^rould  have  occupied  that  strategic  point. 
It  was  made  up  of  State  Militia  and  Volunteers, 
of  whom  R.  K.  Swift,  a  Chicago  banker,  was 
the  commander. 

Governor  Yates  also  sent  a  competent  Chi- 
cago mihtary  man  to  remove  the  guns  and  am- 
munition from  the  United  States  arsenal  in  St. 
Louis  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  By  strategy  he 
removed  them  to  a  steamer  by  night,  just  in 
time  to  prevent  their  being  taken  by  the  reb- 
els. This  kept  Missouri  in  the  Union.  Gover- 
nor Yates  thus  demonstrated  that  he  was  a  real 
"war  governor,"  who  did  things  in  time  to 
make  his  work  count,  and  thus  Chicago  led 
the  vanguard  in  making  his  reputation. 

The  work  of  the  Christian  Commission  con- 
sisted in  looking  after  the  sick  and  wounded  sol- 
diers, with  creature  comforts  as  well  as  spirit- 
ual food.  I  remember  buying  at  one  time  all 
the  codfish  in  Chicago,  as  the  best  cure  for 
prevalent  bowel  complaints  in  the  army  in  the 
South,  and  at  another  all  the  woolen  gloves  and 

73 


y^^  S'.    <^"  '  ^^^<^^^^    ^^  ^ 


:^ 


^  :»e«^f->^. 


.^x> 


Ci^e  (threat  mat 


CHICAGO  sent  the  first  regiment  into 
instant  service  on  the  order  of  Gov- 
ernor Yates,  after  Sumter  was  fired  on, 
to  take  and  hold  Cairo,  and  if  it  had  arrived 
there  forty-eight  hours  later  than  it  did,  the 
rebels  would  have  occupied  that  strategic  point. 
It  was  made  up  of  State  Militia  and  Volunteers, 
of  whom  R.  K.  Swift,  a  Chicago  banker,  was 
the  commander. 

Governor  Yates  also  sent  a  competent  Chi- 
cago military  man  to  remove  the  guns  and  am- 
munition from  the  United  States  arsenal  in  St. 
Louis  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  By  strategy  he 
removed  them  to  a  steamer  by  night,  just  in 
time  to  prevent  their  being  taken  by  the  reb- 
els. This  kept  Missouri  in  the  Union.  Gover- 
nor Yates  thus  demonstrated  that  he  was  a  real 
"war  governor,"  who  did  things  in  time  to 
make  his  work  count,  and  thus  Chicago  led 
the  vanguard  in  making  his  reputation. 

The  work  of  the  Christian  Commission  con- 
sisted in  looking  after  the  sick  and  wounded  sol- 
diers, with  creature  comforts  as  well  as  spirit- 
ual food.  I  remember  buying  at  one  time  all 
the  codfish  in  Chicago,  as  the  best  cure  for 
prevalent  bowel  complaints  in  the  army  in  the 
South,  and  at  another  all  the  woolen  gloves  and 

73 


M^tnm  UtttAltttim^  of 


mittens  for  "Pap  "  Thomas's  army  during  a  very 
cold  snap  in  Tennessee.  Neither  of  these  pur- 
chases was  regulation  army  rations  or  clothing, 
but  they  were  much  appreciated  by  sick  and 
freezing  soldiers.  I  saw  this  grand  old  man, 
when  in  Tennessee,  a  few  weeks  before  the 
battle  he  fought  there,  after  General  Logan  had 
been  sent  by  some  jealous  or  suspicious  supe- 
riors to  supersede  him.  General  Logan  had  the 
manliness  to  say  to  General  Thomas  that  as  he 
had  made  all  the  preparations  for  the  conflict, 
he  would  request  him  to  fight  the  battle,  and 
let  him,  Logan,  only  look  on,  or  obey  orders 
for  a  charge,  if  necessary.  Not  one  general  in 
a  hundred  would  have  done  that,  with  a  com- 
mission in  his  pocket  to  take  charge  of  an 
army  ready  for  active  operations  in  the  field. 

Mr.  Moody  and  others  made  a  trip  up  the 
Tennessee  River,  after  the  battle  of  Pittsburg 
Landing,  and  the  story  of  his  experience  with 
the  wounded  and  dying  soldiers  I  shall  never 
forget.  No  one  was  better  fitted  to  comfort 
them  with  Christ's  gospel  of  peace  on  earth 
and  good  will  to  men,  and  to  send  messages  of 
the  dying  to  bereaved  ones  at  home. 

Chaplain  (afterward  Bishop)  McCabe  was 
one  of  our  Commission's  delegates,  after  he 
was  released  from  Libby  Prison,  and  made  a 
wonderful  record  in  helping  on  the  work.  His 
experiences  at  the  hands  of  the  rebels  in  Libby 
Prison  and  elsewhere  were  great  helps  in 
arousing  his  audiences,  and  when  his  incom- 
74 


f of)n  B.  fattoell 


parable  singing  was  added  to  his  addresses, 
none  could  resist  his  appeals  for  help. 

At  a  Methodist  conference  in  Chicago, 
Bishop  McCabe  said  to  me,  "Do  you  know 
you  made  me  a  bishop  ?" 

"No,  I  don't.     How  is  that.?" 

"Well,  you  made  me  a  Christian  Commission 
delegate,  and  my  work  in  that  body  made  me 
a  bishop." 

It  was  my  great  privilege,  with  George  H. 
Stuart  and  others  of  our  Commission,  to  visit 
General  Grant  at  City  Point,  near  the  close  of 
the  war,  and  be  conducted  to  the  front  to  get 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  war. 

The  following  articles  were  written  home  for 
the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate  while  on 
that  expedition,  and  give  what  came  under  my 
own  observation  when  the  war  was  nearly  over, 
and  when  the  feeling,  North  and  South,  was 
most  intense.  Looking  back  from  a  present- 
day  standpoint  it  does  not  seem  possible  that 
such  a  war  could  have  occurred  in  this  country, 
but  that  it  must  all  be  the  product  of  a  dis- 
eased imagination,  brooding  over  supposed  ills 
that  never  had  a  real  existence. 

A   WEEK   AT   THE    FRONT   WITH 

THE    U.    S.    CHRISTIAN 

COMMISSION 

If  I  recollect  right  the  colored  race  were 
coming  through  the  Red  Sea,  led  by  God's 
Abrahamic    Moses   into    the    Canaan   of   the 

75 


^ome  iSecollection^  of 


United  States  citizenship,  when  we  parted  com- 
pany last  week.  After  passing  through  the 
country  at  Point  of  Rocks,  and  partaking  of  a 
hasty  supper  at  the  rooms  of  the  Christian 
Commission,  the  bugle  sounded  for  church, 
and  we  were  conducted  to  a  beautiful  rustic 
chapel,  constructed  under  the  direction  of 
Chaplain  Williams,  a  field  agent  of  the  Com- 
mission, holding  over  six  hundred  persons.  It 
was  filled  to  its  utmost,  while  the  soldiers 
took  charge  of  the  meeting  with  the  manifest 
help  of  Him  who  said,  *  *  Lo  I  am  with  you. ' ' 

To  realize  what  the  meeting  was,  one  must 
be  there;  it  cannot  be  put  into  type.  A  stal- 
wart colored  man,  in  blue  uniform,  who  had 
lost  both  eyes  in  the  service,  rose  to  his  feet, 
and  with  a  calmness  that  bespoke  the  veteran, 
said:  "Bredderen,  dough  my  body  sight  am 
failed,  de  eye  of  faith  am  clear  and  strong.  I 
sees  de  reward  of  victory  jus'  afore  me,  and 
I'se  gwine  to  grasp  the  prize  wid  the  promises 
of  my  Hebenly  Fader."  A  very  intelligent 
white  soldier  followed  him  with  an  account  of 
his  conversion,  only  a  few  days  before,  and  the 
assault  Satan  had  made  upon  his  faith.  In  the 
midst  of  the  conflict,  apparently  overcome,  he 
thought  of  the  great  Captain — went  to  Him, 
and  returned  with  the  marching  order,  "Get 
thee  behind  me,  Satan,"  which  was  instantly 
obeyed,  and  then  with  the  pathos  of  the  new 
"creature"  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  a  mind  quick- 
ened with  energy  of  this  new  birth,  he  called 
76 


^m  V.  factddl 


on  his  fellow-soldiers  to  enlist  under  the  blood- 
stained and  victorious  banner  of  King  Jesus, 
whose  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  but  is  set 
up  within  us. 

An  old  sunburnt  Methodist  from  Indiana  said 
he  had  received  a  letter  from  two  of  his  little 
girls  at  home,  in  which  they  said,  **Papa,  we 
have  taken  your  advice,  and  given  our  hearts 
to  Jesus."  With  his  heart  so  full  that  he 
could  scarcely  speak,  he  said,  '*How  this  intel- 
ligence steals  from  my  thoughts  the  hardships 
of  a  soldier's  life."  The  thought  that  his 
house  had  determined  to  serve  God  buried  all 
hardships  and  toil  under  its  broad  shield,  and 
he  was  a  happy  man. 

Drs.  Scudder  and  Duryea  could  no  longer 
retain  their  seats,  and  the  other  New  York 
gentlemen  were  taken  with  the  same  symp- 
toms. Such  extemporaneous  remarks  from 
men  accustomed  to  read  sermons  I  never 
heard  before.     Truly,  God  was  in  that  place. 

At  the  appointed  hour  General  Patrick's 
boat  came  to  carry  us  to  City  Point,  and  the 
services  had  to  be  closed. 

Our  next  march  was  to  the  extreme  front, 
via  Petersburg  to  Hatcher's  Run,  under  the 
escort  of  General  Gwyn,  who  shared  our 
hospitality  at  City  Point,  and  insisted  on  our 
sharing  his  at  the  front. 

The  general  won  his  stars  by  his  gallantry 
in  taking  a  rebel  fort,  and  suffice  it  to  say  that 
he  captured  us  likewise  upon  the  first  charge, 

77 


^ome  iSecoIIection^  of 


and  if  he  ever  come  West  I  propose  to  let  you 
look  upon  one  who  is  every  inch  a  man. 

After  dinner  the  general  had  his  brigade 
drawn  up  in  a  hollow  square,  in  front  of  his 
quarters,  to  hear  from  George  H.  Stuart  and 
others  of  our  party,  who  addressed  them  brief- 
ly, after  which  the  camp  rang  with  cheers  for 
General  Grant  and  President  Lincoln. 

An  hour's  ride  brought  us  to  a  lookout 
station,  from  which  through  a  glass  I  could 
survey  the  streets  of  Petersburg  and  its  de- 
fenses, while  a  little  out  to  the  left  a  rebel 
brigade  was  drilling,  whose  bayonets  glistened 
in  the  sun  with  a  horrid  glare.  Only  a  few 
hours  previous  two  men  had  been  drawn  up 
before  them,  shot  and  buried  like  dogs,  probably 
for  believing  that  to  desert  was  more  patriotic 
than  to  fight  against  the  good  old  flag. 

On  our  return  we  visited  the  headquarters  of 
General  Crawford,  where  we  found  General 
Davis,  chief  of  cavalry,  and  General  Warren, 
— all  young  men  whose  names  will  shine  in 
history.  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath  and 
our  party  were  detailed  for  special  services  in 
several  of  the  army  chapels  at  different  sta- 
tions, of  which  there  are  one  hundred  and  fifty 
now  in  the  service. 

At  Warren  station  there  was  a  communion 
service,  where,  for  some  reason  I  learned  that 
nearly  all  the  Methodist  delegates  of  the  Com- 
mission had  been  sent  by  our  field  agent.  A 
heavenly  Methodist  revival  has  been  in  pro- 
78 


3^of)n  1^.  f  attDcH 


gress  there  for  some  weeks,  and  at  this  com- 
munion twenty-five  were  baptized,  and  two 
hundred  communed,  one  hundred  and  thirty  of 
whom  were  new  converts. 

Ministers  of  four  denominations  assisted  in 
the  service,  and  no  one  asked  whether  they 
were  all  Close  Communion  Baptists,  or  lineal 
descendants  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  while 
they  came  forward  with  broken  hearts  to  com- 
memorate the  suffering  of  Him  who  prayed  the 
Father  that  they  all  might  be  one,  as  He  and 
the  Father  were  one  —  and  such  they  seemed 
to  be,  as  full  hearts  and  moistened  eyes  amply 
testified  on  this  occasion.  Such  scenes  are  a 
foretaste  as  well  as  a  symbol  of  heaven. 

From  all  quarters  of  the  globe  almost,  and 
from  all  denominations,  did  this  company  draw 
its  numbers,  and  yet  the  religion  of  Jesus 
broke  down  all  walls  of  national  or  sectarian 
partition,  and  placed  them  all  at  Jesus'  feet, 
an  exalted  level  of  true  nobility. 

Monday  morning  General  Grant  placed  his 
private  boat  at  our  disposal  for  a  visit  to  the 
Army  of  the  James,  and  telegraphed  General 
Ord  to  furnish  us  transportation,  on  arriving 
at  his  headquarters,  for  that  purpose.  It  had 
been  intimated  to  us  that  General  Ord  was  a 
Catholic,  and  that  probably  we  should  not  be 
very  cordially  treated.  In  this  we  were  mis- 
led. Our  transportation  was  duly  furnished, 
and  in  conversation  with  him  in  regard  to  the 
work  of  the  Christian  Commission  in  his  de- 

79 


^tnnt  UtttAltttitm^  of 


partment,  he  seemed  to  take  a  deep  interest 
in  it,  saying  that  it  was  doing  more  good  in 
proportion  to  its  means  than  any  other  agency 
in  the  army,  and  that  among  his  colored  troops 
the  schools  were  doing  an  immense  amount  of 
good.  This  is  the  universal  testimony  of 
all  the  officers  of  the  army  with  whom  I 
conversed.  **God  bless  the  Christian  Com- 
mission" seems  to  resound  all  along  the  lines 
of  these  armies. 

Riding  along  the  lines  of  General  Ord's  army, 
nothing  but  black  soldiers  met  the  eye.  At 
one  point  Brother  Stuart  ordered  a  halt,  when 
the  soldiers  were  off  duty,  and  called  a  large 
number  together  in  an  incredibly  short  space 
of  time,  and  talked  to  them  about  Jesus  and 
their  duty  to  Him  as  well  as  to  their  country, 
after  which  they  all  joined  heartily  in  singing 
a  hymn.  Before  prayers,  all  who  wished  to  be 
prayed  for  were  requested  to  raise  their  hands. 
A  majority  raised  their  hands  in  token  of  such 
desire,  and  one  of  the  ministers  led  in  earnest 
prayer. 

Passing  on,  we  soon  came  to  a  regiment  on 
dress  parade.  The  colonel  requested  another 
impromtu  meeting  with  his  regiment.  With  a 
saddle  for  a  pulpit,  and  a  file  of  armed  soldiers 
for  an  audience.  Brother  Mingins  officiated, 
and  we  passed  on  to  other  scenes,  wondering 
the  while  at  the  quiet  order  and  neatness  of 
these  colored  soldiers  in  every  department  of 
their  duty. 

80 


3^ol)n  B.  f  atrtDell 


Fort  Harrison,  in  our  lines,  is  confronted  by 
a  rebel  fort,  the  muzzles  of  whose  guns  are 
almost  visible  to  the  naked  eye ;  while  in  plain 
sight,  between  the  two,  were  federal  and  rebel 
lines  of  pickets,  marching  their  tedious  beats 
in  talking  distance  of  each  other;  ready  at  any 
moment,  upon  word  of  command,  to  open  the 
red  sepulchre  of  war,  and  bury  each  other  out 
of  sight. 

Returning  to  the  boat,  at  nine  o'clock  at  night, 
the  captain  informed  us  that  it  was  too  foggy 
to  go  back  to  City  Point,  so  we  were  booked 
for  a  night's  lodging  and  a  supper  in  the  same 
rooms  and  around  the  same  table  where  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  and  Secretary  Seward  met  the 
rebel  peace  commissioners  but  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore to  discuss  the  terms  of  peace.  About  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  I  was  awakened  from 
a  comfortable  sleep  by  a  discharge  of  artil- 
lery which  shook  the  boat,  and  the  thought 
struck  me  that  the  rebel  rams,  whose  smoke 
we  had  seen  the  day  before  from  Dutch  Gap 
Canal,  had  come  down  the  river  to  retake  a 
boat  load  of  our  prisoners  which  lay  just  above 
in  the  river  waiting  to  go  down  to  City  Point. 

The  journey  home,  the  waiting  on  the  boat 
with  rebel  deserters,  would  form  another  chap- 
ter, but  I  will  give  merely  one  instance  of  a 
facetious  rebel's  leave-taking  from  his  former 
companions. 

He  was  a  cavalryman,  and  told  me  that  he 
had  spent  $4,500  since  the  war  began  for 
81 


M>tnnt  ilccollecticm^  of 


horses,  and  a  short  time  before  he  deserted 
an  order  was  issued  that  any  one  found  de- 
stroying rails  would  be  required  to  maul  three 
hundred  as  a  punishment  for  the  offense. 

He  had  built  a  shelter  for  his  horse,  and  had 
used  two  rails  to  keep  the  shakes  on  the  roof, 
for  which  he  was  called  up  to  the  captain's 
quarters  to  answer. 

He  plead  that  the  rails  were  not  destroyed, 
but  were  in  the  service,  protecting  the  horse. 
His  plea  was  denied  and  sentence  passed  that 
he  must  split  three  hundred  rails.  The  captain 
lent  him  an  ax  without  a  helve,  that  had  been 
"jumped"  so  often  that  there  was  scarcely  any- 
thing left  but  an  eye.  When  he  was  to  be  on 
picket  duty  that  night  he  deserted,  and  he  left 
word  for  the  captain  that,  as  he  knew  nothing 
about  spHtting  rails,  he  had  concluded  to  go 
and  take  a  few  lessons  of  Abraham,  who,  he 
was  informed,  understood  the  business;  mean- 
while he  hoped  the  captain  might  be  able  to 
dispense  with  the  rails  until  his  return. 

They  will  all  take  lessons  of  Abraham  ere 
long.  Thank  God,  he  is  an  apt  teacher  who 
will  soon  convince  the  rebel  crew  that  the  way 
of  the  transgressor  is  hard  and  that  the  rebel- 
lion can  be  split  as  well  as  rails. 

In  my  last  I  gave  you  some  incidents  on  the 
way  to  the  front.  We  will  now  take  some 
observations  together  from  the  tusks  of  the 
"Elephant,"  commencing  at  General  Grant's 
headquarters,  where  we  found  ourselves  a  short 
82 


S^oftn  1^.  f  attoell 


time  after  our  arrival  at  City  Point.  Mr. 
Stuart  introduced  the  company  to  the  general, 
who  received  us  cordially.  While  talking  with 
us  it  was  evident  from  his  countenance  that 
the  chess  board  of  the  conflict  was  uppermost 
in  his  mind,  and  when  Sherman's  name  was 
mentioned,  his  face  seemed  to  glow  with 
mingled  satisfaction  and  pride,  as  he  pointed 
to  Fayetteville  on  the  map,  saying,  **He  will 
be  there  in  a  few  days."  The  papers  were 
sending  him  off  to  Salisbury  after  our  pris- 
oners, but  it  was  evident  that  Grant  had  sent 
him  to  Fayetteville. 

Grant  says,  "Go,"  and  he  goeth  —  anywhere. 
From  here  we  proceeded  to  the  headquarters 
of  General  Patrick,  provost  marshal  of  the 
armies  of  the  James  and  the  Potomac,  whose 
heart  and  soul  seemed  to  be  in  sympathy 
with  the  work  of  the  Christian  Commission. 
After  giving  us  some  excellent  advice,  by  way 
of  suggestion,  he  ordered  his  own  private  boat 
to  convey  us  to  Point  of  Rocks  for  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  large  hospitals  at  that  place,  and 
accompanied  us  there.  Would  to  God  that  all 
our  generals  were  like  him.  Christian  men, 
wearing  the  star  of  Bethlehem  as  prominently 
as  the  stars  of  their  rank  in  the  army.  Pass- 
ing through  the  hospitals,  which  wore  an 
aspect  of  neatness  and  comfort,  our  attention 
was  suddenly  arrested  by  the  sight  of  a  col- 
ored man  just  being  taken  out  for  burial. 
Mr.  Stuart  called  the  little  gathering  together, 

83 


^ome  ilecollettion^  of 


and  proposed  a  short  burial  service,  consisting 
of  singing,  remarks,  and  prayers,  which  were 
kindly  received  by  the  soldiers  and  nurses. 
A  little  farther  on,  an  old  colored  man,  who 
seemed  very  intelligent,  attracted  my  atten- 
tion, and  I  said  to  him,  "How  do  you  hke  this 
phase  of  war?"  "Oh,  sir"  he  said,  "I  shall 
never  fight  any  more.  I  am  sixty  years  old.  I 
shall  soon  get  my  discharge  and  go  up  yon- 
der."    **Up  where.?"     "Where  Jesus  is." 

Having  taken  a  hasty  look  at  the  diet 
kitchen,  in  which  are  prepared  by  Christian 
women  such  delicacies  as  a  sick  man  can 
appreciate,  we  mounted  ambulances  and  rode 
out  to  the  front,  and  from  a  lookout  station, 
elevated  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  we 
took  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  rebel  pickets  and 
their  works.  This  done.  Brother  Stuart  asked 
the  signal  boys  in  attendance  if  they  wouldn't 
like  to  have  a  prayer  meeting  in  the  tower,  to 
which  they  readily  assented.  After  prayer  by 
Dr.  Scudder,  and  thanks  from  the  boys,  we 
were  lowered  away  to  terra  firma  again,  won- 
dering if  ever  a  prayer  meeting  was  held  in 
such  a  place  before. 

The  next  point  of  interest  to  us  was  the 
cemetery.  It  is  laid  out  in  circular  form,  with 
a  vacant  space  in  the  center  for  a  monument 
and  ranged  in  alternate  sections,  with  walks 
dividing  them.  Each  state  has  her  long  line 
of  wooden  head-boards  for  the  men  who 
laid  down  their  lives  for  their  country,  and 
84 


foljn  1^.  jFartocH 


a  prominent  feature  is  the  space  allotted  to 
the  colored  troops,  of  whom  there  seemed  to 
be  a  longer  line  of  head-boards  than  in  any 
other  section  (the  army  of  the  James  being 
largely  composed  of  colored  troops).  It  taught 
me  that  colored  men  have  some  rights  that 
white  men  are  bound  to  respect, —  the  right  to 
lay  down  their  lives  for  a  government  that  has 
been  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  all  na- 
tions except  their  own. 

The  spectacle  is  sublime — meeting  a  martyr's 
fate  in  the  cause  of  their  own  former  oppres- 
sors. From  Deep  Bottom  on  the  James  to 
Fort  Harrison,  and  on  to  the  extreme  right, 
for  miles  and  miles,  these  black  men  without 
rights  stand  behind  breastworks  of  their  own 
construction,  and  within  forts  built  by  their 
labor,  carrying  Uncle  Sam's  muskets  and  man- 
ning his  loud-mouthed  peacemakers,  stamping 
the  rebellion  into  the  dust. 

Thanks  to  the  God  of  justice  and  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  that  the  colored  man's  answer 
to  a  delegate's  question,  **What  does  U.  S. 
mean.?"  as  it  stands  on  the  badge  of  the 
U.  S.  Christian  Commission,  is  prophetic  of 
the  coming  position  of  his  countrymen. 
Said  he,  **It  means  us.^^  Those  breast- 
works made  by  colored  soldiers,  those  mus- 
kets and  those  cannon,  borne  and  manned 
by  colored  troops,  and  those  graves  filled  by 
colored  dead,  speak  to  us  of  the  rights  of 
black  men  in  tones  that  cannot  be  stifled 
85 


^ome  ilecoHection^  of 


by  the  cry  of  "nigger  worshipers"  in  the  ears 
of  the  American  people.  They  do  mean  us 
surely. 

Pardon  me  if  I  say  more  than  I  ought  to 
in  this  connection,  and  put  it  down  to  the 
account  of  a  weakness  of  mine  in  being  cap- 
tured by  these  sights  around  "the  elephant." 
On  the  boat  we  saw  a  very  intelligent  con- 
traband with  whom  we  had  the  following 
conversation:  "What  is  your  name.?"  "Eli 
Brown."  "Any  relation  to  John  Brown.?" 
"No,  massa,  but  I  have  heard  of  him  in  Rich- 
mond. It  cost  Governor  Wise  millions  to  hang 
him,  but  his  soul  is  marching  on."  "You  are 
from  Richmond,  then,  and  of  course  you  rec- 
ognize Jeff  Davis  and  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy.?"    "No,  sah,  I  doesn't  nohow." 

"Haven't  you  heard  that  Lincoln  is  going 
to  recognize  it.?"  With  a  look  of  astonish- 
ment, he  was  speechless  for  a  minute,  and 
then  gathering  faith  in  the  author  of  the  proc- 
lamation, said  he:  "Wal,  sah,  when  Mister 
Lincoln  does  dat,  den  I  will." 

' '  How  did  you  get  here  ? "  "I  runned  away, 
sah."  "Did  you  consult  your  master  about 
it.?"  "No,  sah,  Massa  Allen  didn't  consult 
me  when  he  sold  my  two  chillens,  so  I  not 
consult  him  when  I  leaved  him." 

"White  people    down  South  say  that   you 

black  people  cannot  take  care  of  yourselves 

when  you  are    free;  how  is    that?"     "Wal, 

massa,  we   takes  care   of   dem,   and    us  too, 

86 


f  0l)n  B.  jrartoril 


when  we 's  slaves — can't  we  take  care  of  us 
alone  when  we's  free?" 

Another  of  the  contrabands,  servant  of  one 
of  the  generals,  who  had  taught  him  to  read, 
said  that  before  he  left  his  master  they  told 
him  that  the  Yankees  would  shoot  the  black- 
men,  make  breastworks  of  them,  and  shoot 
down  their  women  and  children  —  but  he  had 
concluded  to  try  it  on.  We  said  to  him: 
"Your  masters  tell  us  that  you  don't  want 
your  freedom,  how  is  that?"  '*Dey  try  to 
shut  your  eyes  same  as  they  did  us,  about 
your  shooting  us." 

We  attended  a  colored  prayer  meeting  at 
City  Point,  the  attendants  being  from  a  regi- 
ment two  thirds  of  whose  men  had  been  killed 
in  the  famous  attempt  to  take  Petersburg. 
Our  New  York  D.D.'s  were  very  much  in- 
terested, and  shook  hands  heartily  with  the 
leader  of  the  meeting,  who,  after  some  ten 
had  come  forward  for  prayers,  could  keep  still 
no  longer,  and  so  shook  hands  with  almost  every 
man  in  the  house.  This  man  spoke  with  such 
force  and  clearness,  as  to  command  the  atten- 
tion of  those  learned  men.  I  took  occasion 
to  talk  with  him  after  the  meeting  was  over, 
and  found  that  he  had  been  a  slave  in  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  was  a  preacher,  and  gave  this 
account  of  his  first  sermon: 

He  was  sixty  years  old.  At  the  age  of 
thirty  he  had  a  vision  in  which  the  first  chap- 
ter of  Job  and  the  second  chapter  of  the  Acts 
87 


^ome  Mttoiltttion^  of 


were  given  to  him,  word  for  word,  and  the  next 
day  being  the  Sabbath,  he  repeated  the  two 
chapters,  and  spoke  to  his  brethren.  After 
the  services,  a  white  man,  who  knew  him  well, 
asked  him  where  he  had  learned  them,  when 
he  gave  him  the  facts,  and  this  friend  took  out 
his  Bible,  and  read  them  to  him.  He  had 
never  before  known  that  there  were  such  books 
in  the  Bible  as  the  book  of  Job  and  the  Acts. 
Job,  bereft  of  all  he  had,  and  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  endued  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  having 
all  things  in  common,  was  to  him  all  the  theol- 
ogy he  needed  to  preach  to  the  slave  who  was 
bereft  of  all;  yet  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  left  within  his  grasp,  which  levels  all  dis- 
tinctions and  raises  to  a  common  level,  in  the 
regard  of  the  great  All-Father,  every  child  of 
the  dust. 

ELECTION  OF  1864 
While  the  war  was  at  its  height,  Lincoln 
was  again  nominated  for  President,  and  I 
was  made  elector  for  the  first  district  of 
Illinois,  including  Chicago,  and  sent  the  fol- 
lowing communication  to  the  Northwestern 
Christian  Advocate,  to  indicate  my  view  of 
the  situation  at  that  time,  and  the  prospec- 
tive result.  This  was  the  only  elective  poli- 
tical office  I  ever  held  by  the  votes  of  my 
fellow-citizens: 

Mr.  Editors:     Having  had  my  name  placed 
before    the    people  for    Presidential    Elector, 
88 


S^oJin  1B.  f  artoell 


without  having  sought  the  position,  you  will 
please  allow  me  space  in  your  columns  to  tell 
the  people  my  views,  without  their  having 
asked  for  them,  so  that  no  one  shall  have  it  to 
say,  that  he  voted  for  an  ''Abolitionist,"  with- 
out knowing  it.  I  always  have  been  a  ''Demo- 
cratic-Republican Abolitionist,"  though  I 
never  voted  an  Abolition  ticket.  I  have 
served  as  one  of  a  jury  in  the  United  States 
courts  in  indicting  men  for  resisting  the  exe- 
cution of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  not  because 
the  law  was  just,  but  because  obedience  to  the 
law  is  the  only  safety  for  free  governments. 
I  have  a  great  love  for  the  United  States 
Government,  because,  as  it  is  democratic  in 
principle,  republican  in  form,  and  now  pro- 
poses that  every  man,  woman,  and  child  shall 
be  free,  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  its  pop- 
ulation, I  believe  it  to  be  the  only  true  expo- 
nent of  liberty  and  progress  for  the  human 
race.  Having  this  faith,  I  am  for  abolishing 
everything  and  everybody  that  would  tarnish 
its  honor  or  diminish  its  power. 

Its  Constitution,  and  the  Union  of  States 
under  it,  must  be  preserved  at  all  hazards. 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  the  platform  of  princi- 
ples he  occupies  are  unequivocally  pledged  to 
this  purpose;  therefore,  if  the  voice  of  the 
whole  world  were  necessary  to  make  him  Presi- 
dent, and  I  were  empowered  to  cast  the  vote, 
I  would  cast  it  for  this  man,  before  all  other 
good  and  true  men  who  honor  our  times. 
89 


^ome  iSccollection^  of 


The  rebellion  was  begun  because  the  essen- 
tial principles  of  the  Chicago  platform  elected 
him  four  years  since.  Those  principles,  bap- 
tized with  the  blood  of  patriots,  will  elect  him 
again,  and  abolish  the  rebellion  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet.  Then  will  he  be  President  of  the 
whole  territory  over  which  he  was  first  con- 
stitutionally elected,  the  nation's  honor  and 
integrity  will  be  vindicated  before  the  world, 
and  the  Constitution  will  be  regarded  every- 
where as  a  real  and  holy  bond  of  inalienable 
rights  and  not  empty  words  wasted  on  worth- 
less parchment. 

This  must  be  accomplished  to  secure  per- 
manent peace  and  prosperity  to  the  nation, 
and  hereby  many  things  must  necessarily  be 
abolished  which  now  hold  high  carnival  in  ex- 
pectation of  a  different  result  in  the  Novem- 
ber election. 

The  African  ''nigger"  with  his  mixed  de- 
scendants having  been  the  authors  of  all  the 
fusions  and  confusions  which  have  made  the 
fire  and  brimstone  of  the  present  war,  and 
our  past  political  broils,  must  have  his  of- 
fice abolished  by  abolishing  his  chains.  The 
blood  of  thousands  slain,  and  the  peace  of 
our  children,  demand  this  of  the  present  ad- 
ministration. 

The  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press 
which  belittles  the  Government  and  pro- 
nounces the  work  of  our  victorious  armies  a 
failure,  while  it  magnifies  the  rebellion  and 
90 


I 


3foi)n  1^.  f  ariiJril 


its  agencies,  must  be  abolished  by  serried 
battalions  of  free  ballots. 

Vallandigham,  Wood,  Seymour  &  Co.  must 
have  their  pretensions  to  leadership  and  other 
aspirations  to  power  abolished,  with  no  free- 
dom of  speech  left  them,  except  upon  peniten- 
tial knees  to  implore  "Father  Abraham"  to 
send  some  poor  abolitionist  to  bring  them  in 
out  of  the  cold,  where  the  coming  elections 
will  surely  leave  them. 

The  aspirations  of  all  wicked  and  unprin- 
cipled men  for  places  of  power  and  trust  in 
the  administration  of  the  Government  must  be 
abolished,  because  ''righteousness  exalteth  a 
nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people." 
We  want  no  more  a  Buchanan  in  the  White 
House,  to  allow  his  secretaries  to  steal  our 
guns,  our  ships,  our  forts,  and  our  money,  as 
the  price  of  his  office. 

Professional  politicians,  and  office-seekers, 
and  brokers  must  be  abolished.  The  people 
must  learn  to  ask  their  best  men  to  fill  their 
offices,  from  justices  of  the  peace  to  President 
of  the  Republic ;  and  not  allow  the  Woods, 
Seymours,  Voorheeses,  and  Vallandighams  to 
hoodwink  them  into  the  belief  that  they  are  the 
real  conservators  of  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  nation — the  only  men  capable  of  man- 
aging its  affairs. 

A  bogus  Democracy,  with  such  leaders,  who 
proposed  to  coerce  their  minority  to  yield  to 
the  majority  in  the  first  election  of  Abraham  to 

91 


^ome  IflecoHcctton^  of 


the  presidency,  must  be  abolished  beyond  the 
hope  of  resurrection,  or  democratic  govern- 
ments must  of  necessity  prove  a  disgraceful 
failure. 

That  partisan  spirit  which  would  revive  such 
a  miserable  organization  of  dry  bones  by  vot- 
ing with  a  party  which  declares  the  war  to  be 
a  failure,  must  be  abolished  by  such  a  robust, 
living  majority  of  intelligent,  patriotic  and  in- 
dependent Union  votes,  as  will  demonstrate 
that  patriotism  and  genuine  democracy  know 
no  party  as  such. 

British  swagger  and  gentlemanly  French  in- 
solence, breathing  out  sympathy  for  the  reb- 
els, must  be  abolished,  by  the  same  host  of 
genuine  Democratic  voters. 

That  political  secession  humbug  called 
"State  rights"  or  "popular  sovereignty,"  re- 
quiring the  whole  nation  to  make  a  bow  to 
South  Carolina,  while  she  fires  upon  Sumter 
and  sets  up  for  herself,  must  be  aboHshed,  or 
our  government  is  not  worth  the  value  of  the 
plain  white  canvas  which  receives  the  stars  and 
stripes  as  the  emblem  of  its  power  and  identity. 
Our  flag  is  called  a  "dirty  rag"  by  the  rebels,  and 
such  it  is,  if  the  State  can  defy  the  Federal  au- 
thority with  impunity.  "Let  us  rally  round  the 
flag,  boys,"  until  no  head  nor  heart  shall  attempt 
to  ride  such  a  miserable  hobby  over  the  ruins 
of  our  national  authority  and  greatness. 

In  short,  the  Chicago  platform  and  its  can- 
didates must  be  abolished  by  a  grand  Aboli- 
92 


S^of^n  B.  f  attDcH 


tion  charge.  Without  principles  and  without 
men,  the  American  people  must  bury  them 
out  of  sight,  simply  because  the  rebels  want 
them  to  live  and  rule.  Any  other  reason  in 
addition  to  this  would  be  insulting  to  the  com- 
mon sense  of  a  free  people. 

After  this  general  Abolition  ticket  has  been 
stereotyped  upon  the  Government,  by  the 
logic  of  the  November  elections,  as  it  will  be, 
then  it  will  be  comparatively  an  easy  task  for 
our  boys  in  blue  to  abolish  the  rebel  armies. 
Taking  heart  from  such  substantial  moral  rein- 
forcements from  home,  their  valor  will  be  irre- 
sistible, and  ''Abolitionist"  will  then  be  the 
motto  of  the  coat-of-arms  for  our  regenerated 
Government;  which  shall  commend  it  to  the 
affectionate  regard  of  mankind  and  the  appro- 
bation of  Him  who  sits  ''as  Governor  among 
the  nations"  and  commands  them  to  "break 
every  yoke." 

If  I  am  chosen  as  one  of  the  Presidential 
Electors  of  the  great  state  of  Illinois,  which 
has  furnished  the  best  President,  and  the  best 
general,  since  the  days  of  Washington,  I  here- 
with give  notice  to  the  voters  that  shall  so  elect 
me,  that  I  shall  vote  to  place  them  securely 
in  Abraham's  bosom,  and  not  in  the  hearse 
of  the  grave-digger  of  the  Chickahominy,  for 
political  burial  in  the  graveyards  of  nations. 

When  the  war  was  over  and  the  Christian 
Commission  had  closed  its  work,  a  meeting  of 

93 


^ome  iSecollectimia  of 


the  pastors  and  active  workers  in  Chicago 
was  held  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church. 
At  the  close  I  was  called  to  the  front,  and 
presented  with  a  beautiful  Bible,  with  the 
following  address,  in  writing,  together  with 
the  Bible: 

Chicago,  April  26,  1866. 
Hon.  John  V.  Farwell. 

Dear  Brother — We  are  informed  that  the 
Northwestern  branch  of  the  Christian  Com- 
mission, of  which  you  are  the  chairman,  hav- 
ing completed  its  work,  is  about  to  present  a 
final  report  of  its  labors  to  the  public.  We 
deem  this  a  fitting  occasion  to  give  expression 
to  our  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  work  which 
it  has  accomplished  and  of  the  faithful  manner 
in  which  it  has  fulfilled  its  trust,  and  we  desire 
especially  to  testify  our  appreciation  of  the 
services  which  you  have  rendered  to  the  cause 
of  Christ,  our  country,  and  its  noble  defend- 
ers in  your  unwearied  efforts  and  many  sac- 
rifices to  carry  the  comforts  of  home  and 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  to  the  soldiers  of  our 
army,  in  token  of  which  we  beg  you  to  ac- 
cept this  copy  of  that  Holy  Book,  through 
whose  teachings  you  have  received  the  wis- 
dom that  directed  the  grace  that  sustained 
and  the  strength  that  gave  success  to  your 
truly  patriotic,  philanthropic,  and  Christian 
labors. 

Very  respectfully,  on  behalf  of  the  donors, 
The  Committee. 


94 


3^ol)n  B.  f  artocll 


Names  of  donors  to  the  J.  V.  Farwell  tes- 
timonial fund: 

Revs.  W.  W.  Evarts,  R.  W.  Patterson, 
R.  M.  Hatfield,  W.  W.  Patton,  E.  B.  Tuttle, 
Robert  Patterson,  N.  Colver,  Z.  M.  Hum- 
phrey, F.  W.  Fisk,  F.  T.  Brown,  S.  C.  Bart- 
lett,  Willis  Lord,  M.  G.  Clark,  T.  M.  Eddy, 
A.  Edwards,  Leroy  Church,  J.  A.  Smith, 
O.  H  .  Tiffany,  J.  T.  Matthews,  E.  J.  Good- 
speed,  A.  Swazey,  C.  H.  Fowler,  E.  G.  Tay- 
lor, O.  S.  Leed,  James  Demarest,  A.  W. 
Tonsey,  R.  J.  Hitchcock,  S.  M.  Osgood, 
David  Williams,  Wm.  D.  Skelton,  Geo.  L. 
Wren,  C.  H.  Whipple,  R.  DeBaptist,  C.  O. 
Westergren. 

Hon.  Wm.  Bross,  Lieut. -Governor  of  Illi- 
nois; V.  Denslow,  of  the  Chicago  Tribune;  E. 
Goodman,  of  the  Christian  Times;  Messrs. 
Charles  Walker,  C.  N.  Holden,  S.  P.  Farring- 
ton,  Geo.  C.  Cook,  P.  L.  Underwood,  H.  W. 
Clark,  J.  W.  Clough,  C.  B.  Nelson,  B.  W.  Ray- 
mond, Tuthill  King,  J.  L.  Reynolds,  B.  F. 
Jacobs,  D.  L.  Moody,  Marshall  Field,  John 
Creighton,  G.  W.  Perkins,  John  H.  HoHister, 
O.  H.  Horton,  N.  Baldwin,  W.  S.  Allen,  J.  N. 
Barker,  J.  M.  Chapman,  R.  F.  Queal,  C.  J. 
Bishop,  F.  M.  Rockwell,  O.  C.  Gibbs,  E.  S. 
Wells,  H.  H.  Adams,  E.  C.  Wilder,  S.  H. 
Kellogg,  Alex  Drake,  J.  E.  Wilson,  W.  W. 
Allport,  Wm.  H.  Whitehead. 

The  only  ones  now  living  (1903)  of  this  list 
of  ministers  and  laymen  and  business  men  are 

95 


^omc  flctollection^  of 


Bishop  C.  H.  Fowler,  Judge  O.  H.  Horton,  Dr. 
Hollister,  E.  S.  Wells  and  Marshall  Field. 

THE  SOUTH  AFTER  THE  WAR 

My  first  trip  to  New  Orleans,  after  the  war, 
gave  me  an  insight  into  political  sectarianism, 
based  on  slavery  as  a  democratic  institution. 
Getting  into  conversation  with  a  Southern  man 
on  the  cars,  I  eulogized  Lincoln  as  the  best 
friend  of  the  South,  but  soon  found  out  that 
such  sentiments  were  almost  a  pretext  for  my 
expulsion  from  the  train. 

Coming  home  by  way  of  Charleston,  we 
found  a  remarkable  minister  there,  who  served 
one  of  the  largest  churches  in  Charleston,  only 
on  condition  that  he  be  allowed  to  preach  once 
a  week  to  colored  people,  quite  in  contrast 
with  the  sentiments  of  Dr.  Palmer,  who  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  Moody  when  in  New 
Orleans,  because  he  was  a  layman;  yet  he 
finally  accepted  a  position  on  the  commission 
to  arrange  union  Sunday-school  lessons,  which 
was  one  of  Moody's  children.  While  in 
Charleston,  I  was  informed  of  a  colored  minis- 
ter, who,  when  the  earthquake  shook  his  church, 
prayed:  "O  Lord,  come  and  help  us,  quick; 
don't  send  your  son,  for  this  is  business." 
I  doubted  the  genuineness  of  this  history,  but 
in  Camden,  S.  C,  a  year  ago  (1902),  a  colored 
minister  who  had  been  a  long  time  in  Charles- 
ton assured  me  that  it  was  a  true  story. 

Our  next  stopping-place  was  Norfolk,  where 
96 


S^oljn  1^.  jFartoeli 


the  Merrimack  was  fitted  out  to  capture 
Washington  and  New  York,  but  was  driven 
back  to  Norfolk  Bay  by  the  Httle  Monitor, 
which  arrived  there  just  in  time  to  execute 
God's  orders  in  the  evolution  of  our  American 
commonwealth  into  a  genuine  land  of  freedom. 
While  there  I  attended  another  colored  church, 
which  was  manned  by  a  thoroughbred  negro, 
whose  subject  was  the  last  judgment.  He 
was  a  college  graduate,  with  no  negro  brogue, 
and  his  imagination  pictured  that  awful  scene 
so  graphically  that  my  hair  stood  on  end.  Dr. 
Palmer,  a  great  orator,  was  nowhere  in  com- 
parison, and  I  said  to  myself,  if  Ham  can 
produce  such  men,  slavery  was  aboHshed 
none  too  soon. 

Hampton  School  for  Indians  and  negroes 
was  our  next  point  of  interest.  Here  Booker 
T.  Washington  worked  his  way  through,  when 
quite  a  boy,  and  what  he  has  done  for  his  race 
since  is  another  unanswerable  evidence  that 
slavery  was  abolished  none  too  soon.  He  is  a 
veritable  Messiah  to  his  people  in  everything 
that  ennobles,  in  order  to  elevate  them.  If 
that  school  had  turned  out  no  other  graduate 
from  its  halls,  it  has  well  paid  for  its  title  to  a 
place  among  the  benefactors  of  mankind. 

Mt.  Vernon  and  Washington  followed  Rich- 
mond in  demanding  our  passing  tribute  of 
attention.  Libby's  prison  walls,  where  Bishop 
McCabe  sang  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  the 
day  Vicksburg  fell  as  a  prelude  to  the  down- 
97 


M>tnnt  Ulccollcctions  of 


fall  of  the  rebellion,  called  up  memories  of 
Andersonville,  where  our  soldiers  were  literal- 
ly starved  to  death  in  the  interests  of  slavery; 
while  Mt.  Vernon  and  Washington  brought 
again  from  the  dead  "the  father  of  his  coun- 
try, "  as  well  as  its  saviour,  Abraham  Lincoln 
who,  when  he  left  Springfield  to  assume  the 
responsibilities  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  said  from  the  platform  of  the  car  that 
took  him  from  his  home,  ''My  fellow-citizens, 
I  am  going  to  assume  a  task  greater  than  that 
which  engaged  Washington's  genius,  and  I  ask 
you  all  to  pray  the  God  of  nations  to  guide 
me  in  my  work,  for  with  His  help  I  cannot 
fail."  Probably  no  President  ever  had  as 
much  prayer  to  God  in  his  behalf,  as  did 
Lincoln  on  account  of  this  little  speech,  which 
I  heard  with  my  own  ears.  It  went  to  the 
whole  nation  over  the  wires  and  in  our  news- 
paper columns,  as  his  introduction  to  the 
White  House,  as  Washington's  co-partner 
in  executing  God's  behest  to  make  "a  gov- 
ernment by  the  people  and  for  the  people 
on  the  face  of  the  earth"  that  to-day  holds 
first  place  in  the  family  of  nations.  Being 
dead,  Washington  and  Lincoln  still  speak  in 
tones  of  thunder,  as  well  as  love,  to  our 
people  to  send  their  patrimony  down  the 
ages  as  a  blessing  to  all  the  world.  The 
human  dust  that  lies  at  Mt.  Vernon  and  at 
Springfield  may  well  make  the  meccas  of  all 
other  nations  for  political  worship. 
98 


3^o{)n  B.  f  artDcIl 


I  was  in  New  York  on  business  when  Lin- 
coln was  assassinated.  The  streets  were  a 
veritable  vale  of  tears.  Some  rebel  sympa- 
thizers had  expressed  gratification  and  they 
were  seized  by  a  mob  on  Wall  Street  to  be 
strung  up,  when  Garfield,  who  was  to  follow 
him  from  the  presidential  chair  to  a  martyr's 
grave,  in  order  to  appease  the  mob  was  called 
to  speak  from  a  balcony  and  began  his  speech 
something  like  this: 

"My  fellow-citizens,  Lincoln  is  dead,  but  God 
and  this  government  live  to  guard  and  guide  the 
destinies  of  this  great  country.  Shed  no  blood 
with  puny  human  hands  in  defense  of  Lincoln, 
when  the  King  of  kings  is  pledged  to  vindicate 
righteousness."  They  did  not  hang  the  rebel 
sympathizers  after  this  appeal  was  made  to  the 
Almighty  to  vindicate  the  right. 

I  was  at  home  in  Chicago  when  Lincoln's 
body  lay  in  state  in  the  Court  House  to  be 
viewed  by  thousands  of  our  citizens,  and  I 
was  one  of  Chicago's  escort  to  Springfield  to 
see  it  placed  at  rest  from  a  train  that  stood 
in  the  same  place  where  he  had  made  his  mem- 
orable speech  on  leaving  Springfield  to  save 
the  country. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  I  should  have  had  a 
personal  acquaintance  and  a  friendly  corre- 
spondence with  the  three  Christian  Presidents 
who  were  assassinated  while  holding  that  high 
office.  My  admiration  for  Abraham  Lincoln, 
James  A.  Garfield  and  William  McKinley  in- 

99 


S'otjn  V.  f  artDcil 


duced  me  to  take  an  active  part  in  their  elec- 
tion and  a  great  pride  in  their  ability  and 
patriotism. 

The  animosities  among  rival  candidates  and 
their  friends  against  Mr.  Garfield,  inducing 
outrageous  remarks  about  him,  were  the  origin 
of  his  death  by  the  hand  of  a  demented  v^reck 
of  humanity  v^rho  had  heard  them  and  con- 
stituted himself  the  means  of  ending  his  ad- 
ministration. He  was  a  religious  crank,  who 
once  came  to  my  office  to  borrow  $100  to  hire 
a  hall  to  lecture  on  Christ's  second  coming 
as  having  occurred  when  Jerusalem  fell,  and 
the  next  I  heard  of  him  was  as  Garfield's 
assassin. 


loo 


I 


EeliQiDUjS  Mtm^:^^^^mtt» 


Chicago,  i  L'; 
help  build  the  first  M 
I  was  greatly  helped  '• 
was  a  conv^ted  c^rw,:^   .,    .     ., 
It  was  m  i^^^e'^^A3y^^\r 
Mr.   Moody,   who    alwa)-. 
quarter  before  ten,  the  hoi 
to  myself,   *'Wt 
,  :?"     T    learned    l 
out    drumming    up    SuiiviUj- 
'or  some  one  else  to  tcjich  'h:. 
own   spiritual    m 
urned  townr^l?   ■ 


nd  wh^ 

ling  for  other 

iS  well  . 

:ai..  vv.is  the  basi^     '"  ■ 

Judge  nf' 

)t  judged,  until    • 

gation  tj 

;„ation  of  the  beam  i 

ow^n  eye, 

f  your  brother's. 

After  that  I   kept  track  of  v 
who  left  a  small  South  Side  ( 
was  not   properly  appreciateci 
the  North  Market  Hall  Mission  .,.,. 
from  the  most  needy  elements  of  tl 
Singing   "-  ^    ■-''"   -    r-^  '-  -         ■ 


KeltsfoujS  Keminfjscences 


MR.  MOODY 

WHILE  earning  the  magnificent  sum 
of  ninety-six  dollars,  my  first  year  in 
Chicago,  I  gave  fifty  dollars  of  it  to 
help  build  the  first  M.  E.  brick  church,  where 
I  was  greatly  helped  by  my  class  leader,  who 
was  a  converted  drunkard  from  Galena. 

It  was  in  this  man's  class  that  I  first  met 
Mr.  Moody,  who  always  came  in  about  a 
quarter  before  ten,  the  hour  for  preaching.  1 
said  to  myself,  ''Why  can't  he  come  in  on 
time?"  I  learned  afterwards  that  he  was 
out  drumming  up  Sunday-school  scholars 
for  some  one  else  to  teach  before  getting  his 
own  spiritual  meal,  and  then  my  criticism 
turned  towards  home  with  tremendous  force, 
and  why  wasn't  I  doing  something  for  others 
as  well  as  this  young  man,  was  the  basis  of  it. 
Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged,  until  investi- 
gation fixes  the  location  of  the  beam  in  your 
own  eye,  instead  of  your  brother's. 

After  that  I  kept  track  of  this  young  man, 
who  left  a  small  South  Side  church  where  he 
was  not  properly  appreciated  and  organized 
the  North  Market  Hall  Mission  Sunday  School, 
from  the  most  needy  elements  of  that  section. 
Singing   and    short    addresses   were    all   that 

lOI 


^ome  iSecolIection^  of 


could  be  utilized  at  first,  but  in  due  time 
classes  were  formed,  and  it  became  the  largest 
Sunday  school  in  Chicago.  The  great  revi- 
val of  1857  ^^d  1858  gave  it  a  new  impetus, 
and  I  was  asked  to  be  superintendent  in  June, 
i860,  in  this  way:  One  of  the  converts  had 
asked  me  to  attend  a  parlor  prayer  meeting 
on  Michigan  Avenue,  at  D.  R.  Holt's,  and 
from  his  manner  I  was  sure  that  the  motive 
was  to  help  me  to  be  a  Christain,  which  set  up 
a  lively  thinking,  more  so  than  the  Moody 
Class  Meeting  incident. 

Of  course  I  went,  and  while  there  made  up 
a  programme  in  my  own  mind,  which  was  to 
attend  the  noon  prayer  meeting  in  Metropoli- 
tan Hall,  which  was  crowded  every  day,  and 
let  every  one  know  where  I  stood.  I  took  my 
seat  in  the  center  of  the  hall,  where  every  one 
could  see  me  plainly.  There  were  several  on 
their  feet  at  the  same  time,  and,  waiting  for  an 
opportunity,  I  did  not  rise  until  the  leader 
of  the  meeting  rose,  but  every  one  saw  my 
intention,  and  my  speechless  confession  of 
Christ  before  men  helped  me  to  sing  "  Praise 
God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow"  as  never 
before. 

The  next  day,  on  my  way  to  New  York 
and  Hartford,  the  trees  and  even  the  crooked 
rail  fences  seemed  to  be  singing  it  with  me, 
without  interruption  or  intermission.  Every- 
where everything  was  vocal  with  its  spiritual 
melody. 

102 


S^Dljn  B.  f  artoell 


The  same  intense  religious  interest  pre- 
vailed in  Hartford  at  the  end  of  my  journey, 
where  at  the  first  opportunity  I  gave  this  ex- 
perience, emphasizing  the  necessity  of  confess- 
ing Christ  at  every  opportunity  before  men, 
as  the  most  effectual  argument  for  Christian- 
ity, where  coupled  with  witnessing  of  what  He 
gives  us  in  exchange  for  this  simple  act  of 
saying  —  practically  —  that  we  have  believed 
and,  therefore,  speak  of  faith's  results.  De- 
cision to  be  Christ's  servant  means  more  than 
having  your  name  on  a  church  record,  if  it 
means  anything. 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was  born  again  in  this  re- 
vival. It  was  here,  as  well  as  in  the  Sunday- 
school  work  with  Mr.  Moody,  that  I  learned 
to  appreciate  and  love  him  as  one  of  my  great- 
est helpers.  His  love  of  the  Bible  and  his  in- 
tense enthusiasm  in  work  for  souls  developed 
him  in  his  Christian  usefulness  until  he  girdled 
the  earth  with  tongue  and  pen  as  no  one  else 
ever  did  in  this  nineteenth  century. 

After  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  President, 
but  before  he  was  inaugurated,  he  visited  Mr. 
Moody's  Sunday  school  on  the  condition  that 
he  would  not  be  asked  for  a  speech.  He  left  the 
dinner  table  of  one  of  Chicago's  prominent 
citizens  and  the  assembled  guests  to  keep  this 
appointment. 

When  the  opening  exercises  were  concluded, 
Mr.  Moody  remarked  that  the  President  had 
visited  them  on  condition  that  he  was  not  to 
103 


^ome  iSecollection^  of 


be  asked  to  speak,  but  if  he  wished  to  say 
anything  after  seeing  and  hearing  fifteen  hun- 
dred poor  children  sing  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
of  course  they  would  keep  their  ears  open,  as 
they  would  probably  never  have  another  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  there.  As  Lincoln 
moved  down  the  center  of  such  an  audience, 
he  stopped  and  said  in  substance: 

"I  was  once  as  poor  as  any  child  here,  and 
I  want  to  say  to  you  that  if  you  learn  and 
obey  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  in  your  lives, 
some  one  of  you  may  become  a  President  of 
the  United  States  some  day." 

When  the  war  broke  out  and  Lincoln  called 
for  troops,  seventy-five  young  men  from  this 
school  enlisted.  One  eighteen  year  old  boy 
was  chosen  captain  of  a  Board  of  Trade 
regiment  company  and  distinguished  himself. 
After  the  war  he  became  the  postmaster  of 
Chicago. 

It  is  often  said  by  well-meaning  Christian 
men,  "I  have  no  time  for  active  religious 
work.  My  business  takes  all  my  time."  It  is 
quite  true,  however,  that  the  busiest  business 
men  are  usually  the  ones  that  do  the  most  in 
union  work,  as  well  as  in  their  own  churches. 
There  was  only  one  minister  who  said  when 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was  organized,  after  the 
great  revival  of  1857-58,  that  its  members  were 
all  needed  in  their  own  churches  and  induced 
his  young  men  converts  to  leave  it  to  give  all 
their  time  to  church  work. 
104 


S^cf)n  B.  f  artoell 


His  prayer  meetings  gave  them  no  opportu- 
nity for  training,  as  he  and  his  elders  were  the 
only  ones  that  were  called  on  to  pray  or  speak, 
and  most  of  those  young  men  soon  fell  away 
for  want  of  Christian  athletics.  Some  of  them 
were  afterward  open  infidels  for  the  lack  of 
such  experience  in  a  practical  confession  before 
men  of  their  faith.  Confessing  Christ  before 
men,  and  doing  something  in  His  service,  is  a 
requisite  of  Christian  growth.  Mr.  Moody,  as 
a  member  of  the  association,  organized  a  daily 
service  in  the  Bridewell  and  turned  it  over  to 
me  as  superintendent.  I  was  always  there 
Sunday  mornings  and  many  times  at  the  noon 
hour  on  week  days.  One  man  who  came  there 
with  delirium  tremens  was  converted.  I  made 
him  night  watchman,  while  my  new  house  on 
Wabash  Avenue  was  being  finished,  after 
giving  up  my  Madison  Street  residence  to  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  he  was  a  great  help  to  the 
noon  prayer  meeting,  with  his  remarkable  testi- 
mony to  the  power  of  Jesus  to  save  a  drunk- 
ard. He  drifted  South  as  a  foreman  on  some 
public  works,  and  when  the  war  broke  out 
came  into  my  store  so  much  changed  in  per- 
sonal appearance  that  it  took  me  some  time  to 
recognize  him.  He  was  on  his  way  to  be 
married,  but  stayed  over  to  visit  the  Bridewell, 
and  tell  the  prisoners  that  Jesus  was  able  to 
keep,  as  well  as  to  save. 

I  took  Bishop  Ames,  at  one  time,  to  address 
the  Bridewell  prisoners,  and  I  am  sure  he 
105 


^tnnt  UtttAltttmn^  of 


never  had  a  more  attentive  audience.  Other 
notables  had  Hke  opportunities  to  have  a  full 
house,  which  to  most  of  them  was  a  new  ex- 
perience. Many  of  those  present  went  out 
never  to  be  in  such  an  audience  a  second  time. 

Mr.  Moody  gathered  a  class  of  street  arabs 
in  those  early  days,  who  were  called  "Moody's 
bodyguard."  They  were  promised  new  suits 
on  Christmas  if  they  attended  every  Sunday 
until  then.  He  took  a  picture  of  them  as 
they  appeared  on  the  street  and  another  after 
Christmas,  as  they  appeared  in  the  Sunday 
school,  and  very  few  of  them  can  be  recog- 
nized as  belonging  to  both  groups.  I  was 
their  teacher.  One  day  one  of  them  came  in  and 
took  his  seat  with  his  hat  on.  Another  planted 
a  blow  between  his  eyes  that  sprawled  him  to 
the  floor,  remarking  at  the  same  time,  "I  will 
teach  you  better  than  to  come  into  Moody's 
Sunday  school  with  your  hat  on."  His  hat 
etiquette  was  perfect  after  that. 

Shortly  before  this  one-armed  Charlie  Mor- 
ton was  converted,  after  coming  hom.e  from 
the  army.  He  was  passing  along  the  street 
when  he  heard  singing  in  a  hall,  and  looking 
in  at  the  open  door  saw  on  a  big  placard  at  the 
front  of  the  room  the  words,  "God  is  Love." 
CharHe  thought,  **  Well,  if  there  is  love  any- 
where, I  want  it,"  and  went  in.  Mr.  Moody 
preached  a  good  sermon  and  was  down  shaking 
hands  with  Mr.  Morton  before  he  could  get 
away.  Mr.  Moody  turned  him  over  to  the 
1 06 


S^oljii  15.  f  artoell 


secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  who  took  him 
home  and  kept  him  for  three  weeks,  until  he 
was  thoroughly  converted  and  freed  from  the 
drink  habit.  Mr.  Morton  then  became  one  of 
Mr.  Moody's  most  active  workers. 

Years  after  this  Mr.  Morton  went  for  a  pass 
to  one  of  our  railroads,  and  the  manager  said 
to  him,  *'You  don't  seem  to  know  me." 

"I  haven't  that  pleasure,"  said  Mr.  Morton. 

**Did  you  know  Moody's  bodyguard." 

"Yes  very  well,  I  have  their  photograph  in 
my  parlor." 

"Well,  when  you  look  at  it  again,  pick  out 
the  ugliest  of  the  group,  and  that  is  your 
humble  servant,  who  is  now  a  church  member, 
and  Sunday-school  worker.  I  never  gave  a 
pass  with  more  pleasure." 

Another  interesting  case  in  the  school  was 
that  of  an  unruly  boy,  whose  teacher  said  to 
Mr.  Moody:  "1  must  give  up  my  class,  that 
boy  spoils  all  my  work." 

The  next  Sunday  Mr.  Moody  said  to  me:  *'I 
am  going  to  take  that  boy  into  the  police  office 
below  and  whip  him,  and  when  you  see  me  start 
for  him  have  the  school  rise  and  sing  the  loud- 
est hymn  in  the  book  until  I  return."  This 
programme  was  carried  out,  and  when  he  re- 
turned Moody  looked  as  though  he  had  had  a 
hard  job.  In  a  month's  time  the  boy  became 
a  Christian  and  a  great  help  to  his  teacher. 

When  Moody  was  holding  meetings  in  Far- 
well  Hall,  after  his  return  from  England,  a 
107 


^ome  JSccoIlection^  of 


man  approached  me  at  the  close  of  a  service 
and  said,  "You  don't  seem  to  know  me." 

I  scanned  him  closely  and  said,  "You  are  the 
bad  boy  that  Moody  whipped  into  the  King- 
dom of  Grace;  does  it  stay  with  you?" 

**  Oh,  yes,"  he  replied.  "I  have  never  gone 
back  on  that  conversion." 

Another  incident,  which  really  decided  Mr. 
Moody  to  give  up  business  for  mission  work, 
was  when  a  teacher  came  to  him  with  tears 
in  his  eyes,  and  said:  "I  have  to  go  home 
to  my  mother  to  die  with  the  consumption, 
but  it  seems  as  though  I  cannot  go  until  my 
class  of  ten  girls,  ten  to  fifteen  years  of  age, 
become  Christians.     What  can  I  do.?" 

**  Well,"  said  Moody,  "I  will  get  a  carriage 
and  we  will  go  to  each  one  until  you  have  seen 
and  told  them  of  the  object  of  your  last  visit 
as  rapidly  as  your  strength  will  permit." 

This  was  done,  and  one  by  one  they  all  de- 
cided for  Christ.  Then  all  gathered  at  the 
house  which  they  found  most  convenient,  and 
each  one  gave  her  testimony  and  prayed  with 
Moody  and  their  teacher.  The  next  day  the 
teacher  was  surprised  to  find  Mr.  Moody  and 
every  one  of  those  girls  at  the  depot  to  bid 
him  good-bye,  and  with  gifts  of  flowers  and  a 
parting  song  he  left  them  forever  until  the 
meeting  in  the  New  Jerusalem. 

This  seemed  to  be  Mr.  Moody's  call  to  the 
ministry  of  the  Word.  Business  had  no  more 
charms  for  him  after  this  fruit  gathering,  for 
io8 


9^ot)n  1^.  f  artoell 


the  Master  had  made  soul-winning  paramount 
to  all  other  callings.  Not  many  mighty,  not 
many  noble  are  called,  but  God  has  chosen 
the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
''wise  in  worldy  wisdom  only,  which  is  fool- 
ishness with  God." 

The  work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  next  engaged 
his  attention  and  mine,  as  co-workers,  just  as 
we  had  been  in  the  Sunday  School.  He  was 
chosen  president  after  I  had  served  two  terms, 
and  under  his  administration  the  first  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  building  in  the  world  was  erected. 
Geo.  H.  Stuart  was  invited  to  preside,  and  I 
had  intended  to  christen  it  *  *  Moody  Hall "  when 
the  proper  time  came.  But  Moody  got  to  his 
feet  first  and  proposed  with  a  modest  speech 
that  it  be  called  ''Farwell  Hall" — one  of  the 
mistakes  of  his  Hfe,  for  without  his  zeal  in 
work  for  young  men  in  the  noon  prayer  meet- 
ing and  elsewhere  it  never  would  have  been 
erected. 

The  lot  on  which  it  was  built  was  laid  out 
for  a  water  reservoir  in  the  rear  and  an  office 
in  the  front,  but  the  city  grew  so  rapidly  that 
it  was  inadequate.  In  process  of  time  it 
became  my  residence,  with  a  garden  where 
the  reservoir  was  intended,  until  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  wanted  it,  as  a  reservoir  of  the  water 
of  hfe. 

A  state  charter,  relieving  the  Association 
of  taxes,  was  obtained,  and  the  rise  in  value  to 
nearly  $750,000  was  the  financial  basis  of  the 
109 


^ome  UtttAltttim^  of 


present  Y.  M.  C.  A.  structure  which  is  the 
largest  and  best  in  the  world. 

After  the  lesser  buildings  were  destroyed 
by  fire,  the  one  that  was  torn  down  for  the 
present  palace  had  to  be  mortgaged  for  some 
$80,000.  Mr.  Moody  on  his  return  from 
England  raised  the  money  to  liquidate  at  the 
close  of  his  meetings  held  in  a  tabernacle 
built  for  that  special  purpose.  At  one  time 
that  project  seemed  to  be  a  failure,  when 
J.  V.  Farwell  and  his  brother  C.  B.  Farwell 
proposed  to  erect  it  as  the  foundation  of  a  busi- 
ness block  and  to  give  its  use  for  the  cost 
of  removing  the  roof  and  galleries  after  the 
meetings  were  over.  The  committee  in  charge 
said  it  could  not  be  done  in  time,  but  a  week 
before  the  time  was  up  —  about  sixty  days  — 
it  was  ready  for  occupancy.  Mr.  Moody  said 
it  was  the  best  one  he  had  ever  spoken  in. 
The  manner  and  economy  of  its  construction 
and  the  success  of  the  meetings  made  it  easy 
work  for  Mr.  Moody  to  raise  the  money  to 
clear  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  debt. 

Another  child  of  the  North  Market  Mission 
Sunday  School  was  the  Illinois  Street  Church, 
organized  by  all  the  denominations  active  in 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  as  a  union  church.  This 
is  to-day  the  Chicago  Avenue  Church,  com- 
monly called  **  Moody's  Church." 

Altogether  these  religious  enterprises  were 
Mr.  Moody's  college  and  theological  seminary, 
which   prepared   him  for   his    work  in   Great 


S^olm  t>.  f  artDcil 


Britain,  which  in  turn  opened  the  way  for  his 
wider  usefulness  in  America,  until  called  from 
labor  to  rest. 

I  should  mention  that  the  great  fire  was  the 
climax  which  determined  him  to  go  to  Great 
Britain.  I  did  all  I  could  to  persuade  him  to 
stay  in  Chicago  and  help  build  up  from  the 
ruins  of  the  fire  along  religious  lines,  but  to  no 
effect.  So  I  went  to  his  office  with  a  check, 
which  I  knew  he  would  need  as  his  family 
was  to  go  with  him,  and  I  found  him  just 
starting  for  my  office  with  a  Bagster's  Bible, 
as  his  parting  gift  to  me.  It  was  some  years 
before  I  learned  that  this  was  the  only  money 
he  had  for  expenses.  He  wrote  his  thanks 
from  New  York  in  a  spirit  of  humility  that 
was  a  good  basis  for  his  coming  exaltation  as 
the  Lord's  servant  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ocean,  to  be  continued  in  America. 

At  the  culmination  of  Mr.  Moody's  wonder- 
ful work  in  London,  after  conducting  one  of  the 
greatest  revivals  England  had  ever  known,  he 
invited  me  to  come  over  and  spend  the  last 
three  months  with  him.  When  he  left  Chica- 
go for  England,  he  placed  Major  Cole  at  the 
head  of  his  work  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  As  the 
major  was  not  well  at  the  time,  I  invited  him  to 
go  with  me  to  England.  I  was  soon  asked  if 
Major  Cole  could  carry  on  a  meeting  in  South 
London  and  organize  a  choir  for  Moody's 
Camberwell  Tabernacle,  then  in  process  of 
erection.  I  did  not  hesitate  to  endorse  him 
III 


^ome  iSecoIIettion^  of 


for  that  work,  if  his  health  would  permit.  He 
was  installed,  and  held  two  meetings  a  day  for 
thirty  days  with  eminent  success,  at  which  time 
the  choir  was  to  leave  for  the  Camberwell 
Tabernacle. 

It  was  my  great  privilege  to  be  with  Mr. 
Moody  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia  in  his 
great  tabernacle  meetings,  before  he  came  to 
Chicago,  and  I  can  truly  say  that  my  Father  has 
done  more  for  me  through  this  mighty  steward 
of  His  than  through  all  other  human  agencies, 
except  my  mother.  Before  going  to  London, 
he  had  begun  his  Chicago  Avenue  Church  and 
roofed  over  the  basement.  While  in  London, 
he  had  given  the  pubhcation  of  his  hymn  books 
to  the  proprietor  of  "The  Christian,"  a  reli- 
gious paper  which  had  largely  advertised  his 
meetings  before  he  came  to  London.  This 
Book  of  Gospel  Hymns  became  a  great  source 
of  revenue  to  that  paper,  and  when  Moody 
came  home  the  editor  sent  $70,000  to  com- 
plete the  Chicago  Avenue  Church. 

A  committee  was  formed  in  this  country, 
consisting  of  Geo.  H.  Stuart,  W.  E.  Dodge 
and  myself,  to  act  as  trustees  for  the  funds 
arising  out  of  the  sale  of  these  hymn  books, 
which  were  to  be  used  in  the  prosecution 
of  evangelistic  work  in  the  United  States. 
Finally  this  money  was  all  devoted  to  Mr. 
Moody's  schools  in  Northfield.  The  Moody 
Bible  Institute  was  also  organized  for  training 
Christian  lay  workers  and  evangelists;  and 
112 


Sfofjii  1E>.  f  attDdl 


Chicago  business  men  furnished  the  money 
for  the  building. 

I  had,  some  years  previously,  gone  into  a 
business  enterprise  with  the  intention  that  my 
interest  in  it  should  go  to  this  institution  to 
the  extent  of  $100,000  and  the  interest  on  it, 
until  it  was  paid  out  of  the  business.  When 
my  share  of  this  enterprise  was  sold  for  $100,- 
000,  it  had  previously  paid  some  $75,000  in 
interest.  The  Bible  Institute  is  one  of  the 
most  efficient  educators  of  lay  workers  and 
evangelists,  and  no  other  institution  that  I 
know  of  makes  a  dollar  go  as  far  in  reaching 
the  masses  with  Christ's  gospel  as  does  this 
one.  The  most  efficient  teachers  have  charge 
of  it,  who  have  no  sympathy  with  the  higher 
criticism  that  seems  to  have  found  a  place  in 
some  of  our  sectarian  theological  seminaries, 
as  if  the  very  powers  of  darkness  were  moved 
to  destroy  them.  It  is  in  the  interest  of  such 
union  schools  of  the  prophets  as  the  Bible  In- 
stitute that  no  uncertain  sound  comes  from 
the  Gospel  trumpet,  when  the  Lord's  hosts 
are  called  to  battle  with  Satan's  cohorts  either 
as  out  and  out  wolves  or  as  wolves  in  sheep's 
clothing,  of  which  the  latter  are  the  most  dan- 
gerous to  spirituality  in  the  church. 

In  carrying  on  the  Illinois  Street  Church, 
Mr.  Moody  was  in  the  habit  of  asking  for 
theological  seminary  students  to  conduct  the 
preaching  services,  until  one  of  them  failed  to 
appear,  when  I  suggested  that  it  was  providen- 

113 


^ome  JSccoIIection^  of 


tial,  and  that  he  must  take  the  pulpit  himself. 
He  finally  consented,  and  from  that  time  he 
was  wanted  every  Sunday.  It  was  then  that 
the  seminary  people  proposed  to  ordain  him, 
as  it  was  not  complimentary  to  their  school 
that  a  layman  should  usurp  the  place  of  their 
students.  He  declined  the  honor,  as  it  would 
break  their  rule  to  ordain  a  man  who  had  not 
been  through  college,  otherwise  than  in  one 
door  and  out  the  other.  Evidently  he  had 
more  power  as  a  layman,  and  as  such  he  was 
more  welcome  in  union  meetings,  which  v/ere 
his  ambition  and  delight. 

As  a  Sunday-school  man  he  instituted 
county  and  state  conventions,  which  were  of 
course  union  conventions.  He  was  elected 
president  of  one  at  Geneva,  IlUnois,  and  com- 
plaint was  made  that  "that  Methodist  Moody" 
should  have  carried  off  this  honor.  This  was 
the  highest  compliment  ever  paid  by  one  con- 
gregationalist  to  another,  in  the  Hne  of  earn- 
estness on  the  firing  line.  He  would  never 
take  a  salary  as  general  secretary  of  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.,  as  it  would  hamper  him  as  a  free 
hand.  He  spent  all  his  accumulations  in  busi- 
ness in  his  mission  work,  and  was  discovered 
sleeping  on  benches  and  eating  crackers  and 
cheese  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  union  prayer  meet- 
ing room.  It  was  then  that  I  urged  him  again 
to  take  a  salary,  which  he  refused,  on  the  basis 
that  he  had  only  one  source  for  orders  in  his 
ministry.  He  never  wanted  for  anything  after 
114 


fot)n  1^.  fartdcll 


that,  and  when  I  had  just  finished  a  block  of 
dweUings  on  the  North  Side  and  his  small 
home  became  too  small  for  his  family,  I  gave 
him  rent  free  one  of  them,  and  friends  fur- 
nished it  in  good  style,  including  portraits  of 
himself  and  wife  and  surprised  him  by  intro- 
ducing him  to  a  home  of  his  own. 

It  was  here  that  the  great  fire  found  him, 
and  only  his  own  portrait  was  removed.  When 
the  fire  bell  rang,  he  was  about  finishing  a  ser- 
mon in  Farwell  Hall  on  Paul's  text,  ''This 
one  thing  I  do."  No  one  had  any  idea  that 
the  whole  town  would  burn,  until  the  fact  was 
upon  them  as  a  reality. 

With  his  own  home,  that  of  theY.  M.  C. 
A.  and  of  his  Sunday  school  and  the  Union 
Church  all  in  ashes,  all  barriers  were  burned 
away  which  stood  in  the  way  of  an  invitation 
to  come  to  England  to  take  up  evangelistic 
work,  which  had  been  given  him  before  then 
while  on  a  visit  there.  Some  earnest  men  had 
measured  his  zeal  and  capacity  and  made  the 
call.  Only  a  year  before  he  died  he  related  in 
his  own  church  an  experience  which  probably 
influenced  that  call.  He  said  he  had  been  in- 
vited to  preach  in  a  large  church  in  the  North 
of  London,  by  two  ministers  with  whom  he  had 
come  in  contact,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  the 
sermon  was  a  failure;  but  as  his  custom  was, 
he  invited  all  who  wanted  to  become  Christians 
to  remain  to  a  second  meeting,  and  some  five 
hundred  rose  to  their  feet.     Thinking  he  had 

115 


^ome  iUccollectioti^  of 


been  misunderstood,  he  asked  them  to  be 
seated  and  in  a  more  definite  way  told  them 
what  he  meant,  and  repeated  the  request;  this 
time  an  even  larger  number  rose,  and  a  revival 
of  great  interest  began.  ''Then,"  said  Mr. 
Moody,  "I  learned  afterwards,  that  one  of  the 
attendants  reported  the  result  of  this  first 
service  to  her  invalid  sister  who  said,  *  I  have 
been  praying  for  Mr.  Moody,  to  come  to  our 
church  for  a  long  time,  and  now  my  prayer  is 
answered.  Praise  the  Lord!'  Here,"  said  Mr. 
Moody,  '*was  the  explanation  of  the  effect  of 
the  sermon."  This  was  the  first  time  I  had 
heard  Mr.  Moody  refer  specifically  to  the 
results  of  his  work,  and  here  he  credited  the 
prayer  of  a  bed-ridden  saint  with  the  result. 

The  two  ministers  who  gave  him  this  invi- 
tation to  come  to  England  repeated  it  with 
urgency  when  the  fire  occurred.  They  prom- 
ised to  introduce  him  to  the  public  and  to  aid 
him  in  his  work.  When  he  arrived  in  Liver- 
pool he  learned  that  by  a  strange  Providence 
they  were  both  in  their  graves,  throwing  him 
again  on  the  arm  of  God  alone  for  guidance 
and  help  in  this  mission  world-wide  in  its  re- 
sults, as  the  facts  proved. 

IN  ENGLAND 

While  with  Mr.  Moody  at  the  close  of  his 
campaign  in  London,  I  met  some  notable  Eng- 
lishmen.   Lord  Kinnaird  introduced  me  to  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  John  Bright  at  the  Parliament 
ii6 


S^ol)n  15.  f  artDell 


House,  and  through  Mr.  Moody  I  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Quintin  Hogg  (who  has  just 
passed  away)  of  the  Polytechnic  Institute,  upon 
which  he  expended  a  fortune,  every  year;  also 
of  Dr.  Bernardo  of  rescue  work  and  the  school 
for  waifs,  which  began  with  one  small  house, 
while  now  he  spends  $350,000  per  year  in 
that  work,  all  of  which  comes  to  him  in  an- 
swer to  prayer.  Through  Mr.  Moody  I  also 
met  George  Mueller,  of  the  orphans'  homes, 
where  thousands  are  provided  for  in  the  same 
way.  No  doubt  the  work  of  these  men  stim- 
ulated Mr.  Moody  in  this  special  work,  and 
may  have  been  the  initial  motive  force  which 
impelled  him  to  inaugurate  his  schools  in  North- 
field  and  Chicago  as  aids  to  his  work. 

Mr.  Moody  had  brought  Henry  Drummond 
to  London  to  take  charge  of  young  men's 
meetings  in  a  separate  tent,  after  his  sermons, 
and  was  with  that  remarkable  man  for  a  month 
in  that  work.  Before  coming  home,  Mr. 
Drummond  allowed  me  to  accompany  him  on 
a  ten  days'  run  over  the  mountains  and  gla- 
ciers of  Switzerland  on  condition  that  if  I  could 
not  keep  up  with  him  I  was  to  be  left  where 
that  condition  arose.  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  him  more  tired  than  I  was,  and  enjoyed 
the  joke  no  more  than  he  did.  Altogether  we 
became  fast  friends,  and  at  the  World's  Fair  in 
Chicago  I  had  the  pleasure  of  introducing  him 
to  some  of  our  Chicago  pastors  at  a  home 
dinner,  much  to  our  profit  and  delight.  Mr. 
117 


^ome  ilecolkction^  of 


Drummond  was  a  rare  genius,  who  sized  up 
Mr.  Moody  at  first  sight,  just  as  Mr.  Moody 
did  him. 

At  that  time  young  Kinnaird,  now  Lord 
Kinnaird,  and  Quintin  Hogg  held  night  mis- 
sions for  poor  boys  and  girls  in  the  slums  of 
London.  Lord  Kinnaird  is  to-day  a  power 
for  good  in  that  great  city.  It  was  my  privi- 
lege to  attend  mission  services  for  the  poor, 
as  well  as  parlor  meetings  in  the  West  End, 
inaugurated  to  help  Mr.  Moody's  meetings. 

George  WilHams,  the  father  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  recently  made  Sir  George  for  that  ser- 
vice, was  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  warmest  sup- 
porters. Many  times  I  lunched  with  him  in 
the  room  of  his  great  store,  where  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  was  first  organized,  specially  for  his 
own  employees,  and  then  grew  into  a  city 
organization.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  had  made 
Mr.  Moody  an  evangeHst,  and  so  these  two 
were  hke  David  and  Jonathan  in  Christian 
work.  Two  large  tabernacles,  holding  some 
fifteen  thousand  people  each,  were  built  for 
Mr.  Moody,  one  in  the  East  End,  and  one  in 
Camberwell,  and  in  the  North  of  London  the 
Agricultural  Hall,  holding  25,000,  was  used. 
At  the  last  meeting  held  in  that  hall  there  were 
nearly  50,000  people  on  the  outside  who  could 
not  get  in. 

One  remarkable  conversion  occurred  then 
which  made  history.  A  rich  man's  son  rose 
for  prayers,  and  went  with  me  from  the  plat- 


gfoi)n  B.  f  attDell 


form  into  the  enquiry  room.  I  learned  that 
he  was  an  Eton  student,  and  after  he  had  ac- 
cepted Christ,  he  asked  me  to  get  Mr.  Moody 
to  come  to  Windsor  and  talk  to  the  students. 
How  Mr.  Moody  finally  spoke  to  the  stu- 
dents would  be  a  long  story.  As  the  young 
man  was  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Graham,  who  was 
on  Mr.  Moody's  committee,  and  a  member  of 
Parliament,  it  would  have  seemed  to  be  easy, 
but  it  was  not.  The  Head  Master  was  in- 
vited to  dine  with  Mr.  Graham,  and  finally  it 
was  arranged.  The  council  chamber  at  Wind- 
sor was  secured  for  the  meeting,  but  an  objec- 
tion was  raised  in  Parliament,  which  resulted 
in  the  young  man  getting  the  lawn  of  a  promi- 
nent citizen,  with  a  high  brick  wall  around  it, 
after  the  Mayor  had  cancelled  the  arrangement 
for  the  City  Hall.  The  young  man  who  had 
compassed  all  this  was  sent  out  of  town  by 
the  Head  Master  the  day  of  the  meeting  to 
keep  him  away  from  it,  but  he  arranged  a 
relay  of  horses,  obeyed  orders,  and  got  back 
to  the  meeting.  This  incident  went  all  over 
the  country  in  the  newspapers,  and  advertised 
Mr.  Moody's  work  as  objectionable  to  the 
Enghsh  state  church. 

At  the  Camberwell  Tabernacle  meetings,  Mr. 
Shedd,  a  very  rich  sporting  man,  was  con- 
verted. He  had  invited  a  friend  to  go  to  the 
theater  with  him,  and  the  friend  consented, 
provided  he  would  go  with  him  to  Moody's 
meeting  the  next  evening.  This  was  agreed 
119 


^ome  iSecollection^  of 


to.  The  man  was  converted  and  his  wife  soon 
became  a  Christian,  and  also  their  two  sons. 
One  of  them  was  at  Oxford,  where  Moody 
had  been  invited  to  talk  to  the  students,  who 
had  planned  breaking  up  the  meeting,  but 
this  young  man,  who  was  a  leader  in  college 
sports,  took  the  platform  with  Mr.  Moody, 
and  no  one  dared  to  molest  the  meeting.  He 
afterwards  went  to  China  as  a  missionary, 
invested  his  share  of  a  large  fortune,  which 
came  to  him  after  his  father's  death,  in  mis- 
sion work,  and  some  years  ago  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  him  in  the  Chicago  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  give  an  account  of  his  work.  The 
other  son  is  one  of  the  late  Quintin  Hogg's 
right-hand  men  in  the  management  of  his 
Polytechnic  Institute. 

I  took  the  time  for  a  trip  to  Glasgow,  Edin- 
burgh and  Manchester,  to  see  the  result  of  Mr. 
Moody's  work,  and  found  all  three  cities  alive 
with  Christian  activity. 

I  was  asked  to  give  some  account  of  Mr. 
Moody's  work  in  America,  in  the  General  As- 
sembly rooms  at  Edinburgh.  At  the  close, 
the  janitor  who  was  a  converted  infidel  under 
Mr.  Moody's  preaching,  came  to  me,  and  said 
**Weel,  my  brither,  why  did  ye  nae  speak  of 
Mr.  Moody's  Master  instead  of  him?"  In 
Glasgow  there  was  an  immense  tent  on  the 
green,  where  bread  and  coffee  was  served  be- 
fore the  sermon  every  Sunday,  and  every  day 
the  noon  meeting  found  a  large  church  full. 

120 


3^olf)n  B.  jpattocll 


In  Manchester  the  work  was  going  forward  in 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  elsewhere,  and  it  was  also 
urged  upon  me  to  speak  in  both  these  places. 
At  the  closing  meeting  in  Liverpool,  before 
saihng,  the  large  hall  was  crowded,  and  it  was 
there  that  coffee  houses,  to  take  the  place  of 
saloons,  were  organized  at  Mr.  Moody's  sug- 
gestion, he  securing  stock  subscriptions  for 
that  purpose  after  he  had  proposed  it.  The 
houses  are  still  in  existence  on  a  paying  basis. 

The  scene  on  the  departure  of  our  steamer 
was  an  index  of  the  impression  that  Mr.  Moody 
left  behind  him,  after  years  of  faithful  work  in 
Great  Britain.  It  was  evident  that  the  Man 
of  Calvary  had  led  him  to  give  up  his  own 
business,  and  take  up  one  that  was  to  move 
multitudes  to  a  better  life  than  one  of  self- 
ishness, and  that  he  was  a  living  example  of 
what  the  Lord  can  do  with  one  fully  conse- 
crated man. 

Moody's  work  in  the  United  States  before 
he  went  abroad  had  established  his  reputation 
as  an  evangelist  with  extraordinary  powers. 
The  churches  in  Chicago  that  participated  in 
the  organization  of  his  Union  Church  were 
glad  to  have  him  in  their  pulpit.  Dr.  Patter- 
son, the  nestor  of  Presbyterianism  in  Chicago, 
invited  him  to  his  pulpit  with  ''Long  John" 
Wentworth,  the  Mayor  of  Chicago,  for  a  lis- 
tener. This  led  the  latter  to  lend  financial  aid 
to  Moody's  work,  and  when  his  hip  was  frac- 
tured by  an  accident,  Mr.  Moody  essayed  to 

121 


J)ome  iSecoIlection^  of 


be  his  comforter  while  he  was  confined  to  his 
room  at  the  Tremont  House. 

Mr.  Moody's  work  in  England  had  added 
immensely  to  his  reputation  as  a  unifier  of  re- 
ligious efforts  to  reach  the  unchurched  masses. 
Philadelphia,  New  York  and  Boston  first  drew 
on  his  ability  in  that  line.  The  Pennsylvania 
railroad  depot  was  made  into  an  immense  ta- 
bernacle in  Philadelphia,  through  the  influence 
of  John  Wanamaker,  who  had  bought  it  for  a 
mammoth  store,  and  so  turned  it  first  into  a 
bank  of  circulation  for  the  true  riches. 

New  York  utilized  a  mammoth  building 
near  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  while  these  were  making  inroads 
on  sectarian  individuality  in  religious  work  for 
God's  poor,  as  well  as  God's  rich  people, 
Chicago  was  planning  a  like  campaign  in  due 
time.  At  first  it  seemed  a  little  doubtful  for 
success,  as  some  of  the  ministers  were  opposed 
to  it,  but  finally  the  very  man  who  had  set  the 
ball  roUing  against  it  made  the  motion  in  a 
ministers'  meeting,  called  for  that  purpose,  to 
build  a  tabernacle  and  invite  Mr.  Moody  to 
finish  his  remarkable  tour  where  it  began. 

The  great  revival  of  1857-58  was  now  re- 
vealing God's  plan  of  union  effort,  as  opposed 
to  sectarian  rivalry  for  individual  pre-eminence 
among  branches  of  the  same  church,  by  means 
of  a  consecrated  layman.  Christ  had  surely 
laid  His  hands  on  him  and  he  had  received  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  had  begun  in  his  own  home, 


I 


3f0f)n  B.  f  artDcII 


and  then  gone  to  the  strongest  nation  on  earth, 
and  men  of  all  creeds  had  seen  what  God 
could  do  with  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  burn- 
ing to  convert  those  who  had  received  the 
Gospel  from  Rome  and  were  still  trusting  too 
much  in  human  creeds  and  human  bishops  in 
a  state  church.  It  did  not  take  our  Lord 
very  long  to  teach  the  English  people  that  a 
man  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  could  lead 
them  all  into  a  Christian  unity  in  the  bonds  of 
peace,  that  could  shake  the  very  powers  of 
darkness  entrenched  in  forms  and  ceremonies 
as  old  as  Rome's  apostacy. 

One  of  the  notable  incidents  of  Mr.  Moody's 
English  campaign  was  when  a  company  of 
ministers  from  all  over  Great  Britain  gathered, 
at  his  invitation,  in  a  gentleman's  drawing 
room  in  London  to  sit  at  his  feet,  while  he 
posed  as  sitting  at  their  feet,  asking  them  bib- 
lical questions  with  this  preface:  "I  have  in- 
vited you  here  as  graduates  of  colleges  and 
theological  seminaries,  to  learn  from  you,  and 
I  give  you  notice  that  as  I  never  had  such 
privileges,  I  expect  to  use  what  you  can  give 
me  in  my  work  here  and  elsewhere." 

I  may  not  have  given  the  exact  words,  but 
I  have  given  the  sense  of  his  preface.  Not 
only  ministers,  but  the  Lord  High  Chancellor 
of  England  sat  at  his  feet,  while  Lord  Shafts- 
bury  and  Mr.  Gladstone  attended  his  services 
in  London.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  to  him,  after 
speaking  to  25,000  people  in  the  Agricultural 
123 


^ome  iSecoHection^  of 


Hall,  "I  wish  I  had  your  voice."  Moody  re- 
plied, "I  wish  I  had  your  head."  All  he 
wanted  that  for  was  to  use  it  for  Jesus  Christ 
instead  of  in  parliamentary  debates.  As  such 
minds  as  Gladstone's  generally  choose  the 
latter,  God  was  obliged  to  use  the  compara- 
tively weak  things  to  confound  the  mighty. 
And  when  He  does,  such  men  bow  in  rever- 
ence to  God's  servant  equipped  from  His 
storehouse  of  infinite  knowledge,  as  well  as 
infinite  love. 

Let  no  one  suppose,  however,  that  Mr. 
Moody  was  a  weak  man.  He  had  mind  and 
executive  ability  to  make  a  President  of  the 
United  States,  but  he  chose  a  much  higher  call- 
ing, representing  Jesus  Christ  in  His  chosen 
work  of  seeking  and  saving  the  lost,  through 
human  agencies.  Kings  and  emperors  cannot 
compare  with  him  in  the  reckonings  of  eternal 
wisdom  in  the  choice  of  an  occupation  in 
preparation  for  eternal  companionship  with  the 
King  of  Kings.  The  reckonings  of  time  will 
sink  into  insignificance  when  men  stand  before 
the  judgment  seat  of  the  King  of  Kings  for  the 
ultimate  judgment  on  human  activities  in  this 
world,  which  will  be  final  and  conclusive  as  to 
men's  choices  in  this  life. 

Mr.  Moody's  portrait  hangs  over  me  as  I 
write  these  lines,  to  quicken  my  memory  of  the 
past.  What  his  ministry  in  the  future  will  be, 
born  of  the  past — for  he,  "being  dead,  yet 
speaketh" — no  one  but  God  can  tell.  But 
124 


S^ol)n  B.  f  artoell 


of  this  we  may  be  sure;  that  no  king  that  ever 
lived  but  will  be  glad  to  change  places  with 
him  when  the  King  of  Kings  shall  marshal 
temporal  rulers  to  be  judged  "according  to 
their  works."  Things  seen  and  temporal, 
which  now  enchain  human  intellects  and  am- 
bitions, will  all  be  in  a  buried  past,  while  the 
things  unseen  and  eternal,  which  of  choice 
claimed  Moody's  mind  and  heart,  will  then  just 
begin  their  eternal  development.  He  chose 
first  the  eternal  rather  than  the  temporal  things, 
having  an  inner  vision  of  what  God  has  re- 
served for  His  chosen  ones,  which  it  hath  not 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive, 
because  they  are  beyond  a  limited  intellectual 
power  to  imagine.  **Have  faith  in  God "  is 
our  earthly  introduction  to  Him. 

EIGHTEENTH   ANNUAL   REPORT 
OF   THE  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  1876. 

"In  presenting  our  Eighteenth  Annual  Re- 
port, all  who  are  conversant  with  the  history 
of  our  Association  cannot  but  be  impressed 
with  one  central  fact,  around  which  all  others 
gather,  like  the  rich,  ripe  clusters,  clinging  to 
the  one  vine,  of  which  the  Father  is  the  hus- 
bandman, and  that  is,  that  the  Husbandman 
has  dug  about  and  pruned  this  vine,  until  its 
fruitage  is  more  than  its  most  sanguine  friends 
ever  anticipated. 

"Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity"  may  well 
be  said  of  this  organization.  While  the  ma- 
125 


^ome  iSecoIIcctimt^  of 


terial  fire  has  twice  reduced  her  local  habita- 
tion to  ashes,  and  the  hot  flames  of  opposi- 
tion have  shot  out  their  forked  tongues  of  hate, 
she  has  not  forgotten  her  royal  Master's 
earthly  career.  Nor  has  that  Prince  of  the 
Kings  of  the  earth  forgotten  her.  The  re- 
ports of  the  several  committees  give  ample 
proof  of  these  facts.  He  vi^ould  not  be  true 
to  His  precious  promises,  given  during  that 
wonderful  career,  if  His  blessing  had  not  been 
with  His  church,  against  which  He  has  said 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail,  in  this  their 
united  efforts  to  extend  its  usefulness. 

All  branches  of  the  one  church  can  point  to 
some  of  their  individual  members  who  have 
been  greatly  benefited  by  their  connection  with 
the  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation, and  have  been  made  more  a  blessing  to 
their  own  church.  Were  this  not  the  result, 
I,  for  one,  would  lose  my  interest  in  them. 

Rounding  out  of  Christian  character  should 
be  the  end  of  all  appliances  of  the  Church, 
and  if  there  is  any  field  where,  in  the  present 
age  of  skepticism  and  infidelity,  it  needs  to  be 
fully  developed,  it  is  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
spirit  of  union,  to  the  fruit-bearing  point.  No 
amount  of  theoretical  attainment  in  refer- 
ence to  this  essential  thing  in  Christ's  body  will 
satisfy  Christ,  *'the  Head,"  or  even  a  carping 
world. 

This  work  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociations are  doing.  How  well  they  are  doing 
126 


S^ol^n  "B.  f  artoell 


it  may  be  perceived,  specially,  in  the  wonder- 
ful revival  of  God's  work  in  the  hearts  of  men 
and  women  in  the  Church,  as  seen  in  England 
and  America  the  past  three  years;  and  also  in 
the  natural  results  of  such  a  revival — the  world 
believing  that  God  has  sent  His  son  to  save 
them,  and  that  by  thousands.  Revivals  there 
have  been  of  wonderful  power  in  the  past, 
but  in  these  last  times  the  church  has  massed 
her  forces,  just  when  the  Malakoffs  of  rational- 
ism were  defying  the  armies  of  Israel,  and  the 
Captain  of  the  Lord's  Host,  with  the  drawn 
sword  of  a  united  church,  has  led  on  his  one 
army  to  signal  victory. 

Let  us  learn  from  this  one  great  fact  of  this 
age,  and  not  spend  our  strength  foolishly  in 
trying  to  explain  away  one  of  God's  mile-posts 
in  the  wilderness  journey  of  Christ's  blood- 
bought  church.  Let  me  say  to  one  and  all: 
Look  calmly  at  the  facts  of  history  in  con- 
nection with  Association  work  among  the 
churches.  See  for  yourselves,  not  through 
the  green  goggles  of  sectarian  jealousy,  but 
through  the  crystal  light  of  the  * 'white  stone," 
upon  which  is  graven  the  name  of  each  one 
"that  overcometh."  Take  note  as  individual 
members  of  the  one  church  in  the  battle  of 
life,  and  then  close  up  the  broken  ranks  so 
closely,  wherever  the  church  or  the  world 
may  see  any  real  points  of  separation,  that 
none  from  above  or  beneath  may  justly  charge 
God's  people  with  folly  in  their  visible  relations 
127 


J)omc  iHecoIIection^  of 


with  each  other  in  the  common  work  of  sav- 
ing souls. 

This  Association  has  only  begun  its  career 
of  usefulness,  if  the  churches  of  Chicago  shall 
continue  to  smile  upon  and  second  its  efforts. 
The  field  is  not  Chicago  alone.  This  great 
center  of  human  influence  may  not  confine  her 
light  to  the  corporation  map.  It  must  extend 
far  and  wide,  into  the  regions  beyond.  How 
important,  then,  that  our  trumpet  give  no  un- 
certain sound,  either  for  the  gathering  or  the 
moving  of  the  Lord's  hosts.  As  there  was 
only  one  tabernacle  of  old,  into  which  all  the 
tribes  gathered,  so  now  there  is  only  one  true 
tabernacle,  and  the  Lord  pitched  that  on  Cal- 
vary. "Look  unto  me,  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  be  ye  saved. "  A  look  at  the  Crucified  One 
should  melt  all  hearts  into  one  mold  for  His 
work  on  earth,  left  to  our  hands  from  that  cen- 
tral point  in  the  world's  history. 

For  forty  years  it  has  been  my  great  privi- 
lege to  encourage  union  evangelistic  meetings, 
in  every  possible  way,  and,  therefore,  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  they  have  been 
of  very  great  benefit  to  me  personally,  and 
to  the  churches  who  have  encouraged  and  main- 
tained them,  with  whom  it  was  my  privilege 
to  co-operate. 

THE    PASSING    OF    FARWELL    HALL 

With  the  removal  of  the  old  Farwell  building, 
at  148  Madison  Street,  to  make   room   for  a 
128 


S^oftn  B.  fattoefl 


modern  office  building,  the  last  vestige  of  Far- 
well  Hall,  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  Chi- 
cago's historical  structures,  passes  from  view. 
About  no  other  building  in  the  city,  perhaps, 
cluster  so  many  associations  which  include 
alike  the  religious,  social  and  political  life  of 
Chicago,  as  the  building  which  is  just  now 
being  demoHshed.  For  years  this  building  was 
the  headquarters  of  activities  innumerable,  and 
the  influences  which  went  out  from  the  great 
center  were  potent  factors  in  the  moral  and  ma- 
terial upbuilding  of  the  western  metropolis. 

Farwell  Hall  was  the  first  building  erected 
for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  the  world.  It  was 
just  after  the  fearful  Black  Friday  of  1857, 
when  the  country  was  shaken  to  its  foundations 
by  the  financial  crash,  that  the  people  turned 
in  their  tribulations  to  the  consolations  of 
religion  and  swelled  into  a  mighty  force  the 
''revival"  of  1857-58.  It  was  at  this  time  that, 
at  a  little  prayer  meeting  held  in  Chicago,  the 
work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion began  in  the  West,  and  it  was  determined 
then  and  there  that  a  suitable  building  for 
the  carrying  forward  of  the  work  should  be 
erected.  But  that  decision  was  a  long  time 
reaching  complete  materiaHzation.  It  was 
not  until  1867  that  the  first  Farwell  Hall  was 
built.  The  site  was  one  that  years  before  had 
been  bought  by  the  city  for  use  as  a  reservoir 
for  its  water  supply.  But  young  Chicago,  like 
129 


^ome  iSecolIection^  of 


its  more  mature  self,  grew  so  rapidly  that  by 
the  time  the  purchase  had  been  completed,  the 
site  was  found  to  be  too  small  for  the  city, 
which  had  sprung  so  suddenly  into  a  metrop- 
olis, and  so  it  was  never  used  for  the  purpose. 
But  the  thrifty  sheriff  of  Cook  county,  whose 
home  was  on  the  site  of  the  Madison  Street 
front,  put  the  vacant  space  in  the  rear  to 
good  use  as  a  vegetable  garden.  Then,  after 
a  time,  the  property  fell  into  the  ownership  of 
John  V.  Farwell,  and  in  1866  or  1867  he  pre- 
sented the  lot  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  which,  under  the  direction  of 
D wight  L.  Moody,  had  became  a  power  for 
good  in  the  community,  but  was  sadly  in  need 
of  large  accommodations.  September  19, 
1867,  the  first  Farwell  Hall  was  dedicated 
with  imposing  ceremonies,  as  befitted  the  in- 
auguration of  a  work  destined  to  become  one 
of  the  most  important  in  the  world's  religious 
life.  But  the  hopes  of  the  founders  were 
doomed  to  grievous  disappointment,  for  Janu- 
ary 7,  1868,  the  building  was  burned  to  the 
ground.  However,  the  building  was  imme- 
diately rebuilt,  and  a  little  more  than  a  year 
after  its  destruction  the  new  structure  was 
dedicated,  January  19,  1869.  Our  citizens' 
faithful  adherence  to  the  cause  was  shown  by 
the  generous  gift  to  the  enterprise  of  $60, 000 
in  addition  to  the  valuable  lot. 

For  two  years  the  work  of  the  Association 
was  carried  forward  in  the  large,  and,  for  that 
130 


foljit  ©.  fartDril 


day,  splendidly  equipped  building.  Then  the 
all-destroying  fire  of  October  9,  1871,  swept 
the  structure  out  of  existence,  and  during  the 
three  years  of  hardship  and  doubt  and  uncer- 
tainty that  followed,  the  Association  was  left 
without  a  permanent  home  of  its  own.  In 
November,  1874,  the  new  Farwell  Hall,  larger 
and  better  than  its  predecessors,  was  dedicated 
and  for  the  twenty  years  in  which  the  Asso- 
ciation grew  to  its  present  size  and  great 
importance,  was  its  home.  This  is  the  build- 
ing whose  demolition  was  completed  in  1892. 

Among  the  men  whose  names  were  in  those 
days  most  prominently  connected  with  the 
hall  and  the  Association  work  were  Cyrus 
Bentley,  Dwight  L.  Moody,  George  Armour 
C.  H.  McCormick,  Sr.,  B.  F.  Jacobs,  Orring- 
ton  Lunt,  T.  W.  Harvey,  Dr.  Hollister,  and 
J.  V.  Farwell.  The  hall  was  the  assembly 
place  for  people  interested  in  movements  of 
all  kinds,  and  the  great  concerts  of  the  time 
were  given  there.  The  Apollo  Club  gave 
some  of  its  very  first  concerts  there.  Ole 
Bull,  the  violinist,  appeared  there  when  he 
was  making  his  triumphal  tour  across  the  con- 
tinent. There  the  late  George  F.  Root  gave  a 
great  war-song  concert  that  stirred  the  people 
as  they  were  never  stirred  before,  and  the  Welsh 
eisteddfods  were  always  held  in  Farwell  Hall. 

Lectures  and  readings  were  given  here  with- 
out number.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  T.  De- 
Witt  Talmage  and  scores  of  men  famous  on 
131 


^ome  JSecoIlectton^  of 


the  rostrum;  Francis  Murphy,  Col.  Geo.  Bain, 
Dr.  Henry  Reynolds,  founder  of  the  Red  Rib- 
bon movement;  Frances  E.  Willard,  and  the 
leaders  of  the  temperance  crusade  lectured  here 
or  spoke  to  enthusiastic  followers.  Charlotte 
Cushman  was  one  of  the  great  women  of  the 
stage  whose  presence  graced  the  place  and 
whose  splendid  declamation  filled  her  hearers. 
Fred  Douglass  made  some  of  his  most  impas- 
sioned addresses  in  Farwell  Hall,  and  Sam 
Jones  and  George  Francis  Train  spoke  to 
notable  assemblies  within  its  walls. 

Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, and  many  of  the  famous  women  of  the 
past  twenty  years  met  their  devoted  followers 
here,  and  here  was  founded  the  most  impor- 
tant section  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union.  The  scheme  for  an  Inter- 
national Sunday  School  Lesson  was  originated 
by  Bishop  Simpson  here.  It  was  headquar- 
ters for  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society, 
and  for  years  the  Chicago  Bar  Association 
held  its  sessions  in  Farwell  Hall. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Salvation  Army  work 
in  America,  General  Booth  spoke  in  Farwell 
Hall,  and  told  the  story  of  his  life  and  work  in 
Great  Britain  and  Europe,  and  of  his  plans 
and  hopes  for  the  United  States. 

In  the  celebrated  campaign  of  1878  Gen- 
eral Garfield  spoke  for  his  party,  and  Solon 
Chase,  of  Maine,  he  of  the  famous  steers, 
explained  the  greenback  movement  to  an 
132 


3^ol)n  B.  f  artoell 


audience  which  at  one  time  threatened  to  turn 
into  a  mob.  James  G.  Blaine  addressed  Chi- 
cago audiences  in  that  campaign,  but  the  crowd 
was  too  great  for  Farwell  Hall,  and  he  was 
taken  to  the  old  tabernacle  on  Monroe  Street, 
where  "Black  Jack"  Logan  presided  over  the 
assemblage. 

But  it  is  as  a  religious  center  that  Farwell 
Hall  will  longest  live  in  the  memory  of  the 
people.  The  noon-day  prayer  meetings  which 
were  held  in  the  large  room  on  the  ground  floor, 
facing  on  Arcade  Court,  were  the  largest  in 
point  of  attendance  and  the  most  enthusiastic 
in  spirit  ever  held  in  the  country.  The  names 
of  Moody  and  Sankey,  and  Whipple  and  Bliss 

—  what  a  flood  of  associations  these  suggest 

—  and  one  cannot  think  of  them  without  re- 
calling the  work  done  by  these  devoted  men 
within  the  walls  of  this  historic  structure. 

Then,  too,  the  peculiar  nature  of  many  of  the 
religious  gatherings  made  an  interesting  page 
in  Chicago's  history.  It  was  in  Farwell  Hall 
that  a  religious  gathering  of  all  the  pugilists, 
gamblers,  and  toughs  in  town  was  held.  The 
crowd,  attracted  by  the  announcement  that 
Ben.  Hogan,  the  converted  prizefighter,  would 
address  his  former  associates,  was  something 
tremendous.  Short  hairs  were  out  in  full  force. 
By  some  strange  fatality  an  English  lord  had 
been  secured  to  preside  over  this  motley  throng. 
While  the  Enghsh  lord  was  addressing  them, 
the  toughs  guyed  him,  or  kept  on  talking  among 

133 


^ome  Jietoflecticm^  of 


themselves,  as  though  such  a  being  as  his 
lordship  were  not  in  existence.  Powerless,  the 
sprig  of  gentility  gave  it  up  and  introduced 
Ben  Hogan.  Silence  was  instantaneous  from 
the  moment  Ben  began  to  talk,  and  until  his 
address,  wonderfully  powerful  and  affecting, 
was  ended,  it  reigned  complete ;  a  tribute  to 
his  sincerity  and  ability  which  could  not  have 
been  paid  in  any  other  way. 

Dr.  Andrew  Bonar,  of  Scotland;  George 
Mueller,  of  the  Bristol,  England,  Orphanage; 
Dr.  W.  P.  Mackay,  of  Hull,  England,  the 
author  of  "Grace  and  Truth";  Rev.  Marcus 
Rainsford,  of  England,  father  of  the  well- 
known  Episcopalian  clergyman  of  New  York; 
and  Henry  Moorehouse,  the  "boy  preacher," 
were  among  the  famous  men  who  spoke  to 
willing  ears  in  Farwell  Hall. 

The  name  of  D.  L.  Moody  is  associated 
in  a  countless  number  of  ways  with  Farwell 
Hall.  And  there  it  was  that  the  large  oppor- 
tunities for  evangelical  work  opened  before  him. 
The  friendship  which  existed  between  himself 
and  John  V.  Farwell  was  a  moving  cause  for 
the  latter's  great  interest  and  substantial  assist- 
ance in  the  work  of  the  Association,  whose 
firm  establishment  in  the  West  owes  much  to 
Mr.  Moody. 
LAST  MEETING  IN  FARWELL  HALL 

(Quoted) 

May  7,  1892,  President  John  V.  Farwell,  Jr., 
in  a  short  address  before  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of 
134 


Sfoftn  B.  f  artoell 


Chicago,  referred  to  the  series  of  events  that 
led  up  to  the  farewell  meeting.  *  *  Three  years 
ago,"  he  said,  **this  Association  became  in- 
fused with  what  is  known  in  the  East  as  Chi- 
cago spirit,  and  it  was  decided  that  we  must 
have  a  new  and  better  building.  After  looking 
around  considerably  the  site  problem  was  solved 
with  the  purchase  of  the  Andrews  building. 
About  that  time  Mr.  John  Crerar  died  and  be- 
queathed us  $50,000.  That  gave  us  new 
confidence.  Two  other  gentlemen  subscribed 
$25,000  each,  and  many  others  gave  smaller 
sums.  While  we  have  not  money  enough  to 
complete  our  enterprise,  we  have  enough  to 
begin  operations  on.  To-night  we  have  met  to 
bid  good-bye  to  our  old  friend,  this  building." 
The  Hon.  J.  V.  Farwell  was  then  introduced 
and  spoke  entertainingly  of  the  past  of  the 
Association.  He  said:  "We  are  here  for  both 
a  burial  and  a  preliminary  resurrection  service, 
and  to  me  is  given  the  sad  duty  of  burying  the 
dead,  even  though  it  be  in  Joseph's  tomb,  to 
come  forth  again  for  a  grander  and  better 
work.  It  was  a  singular  providence  that  the 
ground  on  which  this  building  stands — that  we 
are  about  to  bury — was  platted  in  the  form  it 
was  for  a  reservoir  and  office  of  the  first  Chi- 
cago water  works,  but  before  it  was  used  the 
city  had  grown  so  rapidly  that  it  was  too  small 
for  the  purpose  —  just  like  everything  else  in 
Chicago  —  until  another  strange  providence 
laid  the  city  in  ashes,  and  said  to  us  all,  *  Build 

135 


^ome  JlecoIIection^  of 


now  for  the  future — you  have  a  clean  sheet.' 
The  water  company  sold  out  and  what  was  to 
have  been  a  fountain  reservoir  of  lake  water 
for  Chicago  became  a  garden  for  the  sheriff, 
while  the  Madison  Street  office  lot  was  used 
for  his  residence. 

''Another  kind  providence  made  me  the 
owner  of  this  house  and  garden  and  the  present 
president  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was  born  there, 
shall  I  say  as  a  child  of  providence.?  These 
premises  in  time  became  too  small  for  my  use 
also,  and  another  kind  providence  made  them 
the  property  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  thus, 
from  this  spot,  the  water  of  life  has  been  flow- 
ing— not  only  for  Chicago,  but  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth — from  that  time  to  this,  and  it  has 
also  been  a  garden  from  which  many  of  God's 
own  have  been  fed  with  the  bread  that  came 
down  from  heaven.  Can  any  one  doubt  the 
fact  that  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion is  a  child  of  Providence,  especially  since  it 
was  born  again  in  the  great  revival  of  1857- 
58  ?  Before  that  time  it  was  an  association 
mostly  of  fathers,  organized  to  care  for  young 
men  who  were  coming  in  crowds  to  this  then 
attractive  business  center,  and  had  no  homes 
except  boarding  houses. 

*'I  was  one  of  these  young  men,  and  when 
this  Association  was  re-organized,  mostly  with 
young  men  converted  in  that  revival,  I  became 
a  member,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  D. 
L.  Moody,  who  was  the  main  link  in  the  chain 
136 


foljn  B.  f artoeH 


of  providence  that  made  this  first  building  in 
the  world  for  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  possible.  The 
needs  of  such  a  building  were  first  urged  upon 
the  Association  by  him,  and  then,  as  now,  what 
he  wanted  was  a  prophecy  of  what  was  to  be. 

''The  building  came  in  due  time,  and  was 
burned  down  soon  after.  Another  quickly 
rose  upon  its  ruins,  and  the  'water  of  life' 
and  'the  bread  of  heaven '  was  again  dispensed 
with  the  blessing  of  Him  who  feeds  the  mul- 
titudes who  are  without  a  shepherd.  The 
great  fire  of  1872-7  again  laid  it  in  ruins. 
While  the  fire  was  burning  that  leveled  the 
city  Mr.  Moody  was  preaching  in  this  building 
from  this  text :  '  This  one  thing  I  do,  forget- 
ting those  things  which  are  behind  and  reach- 
ing forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before, 
I  press  forward  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize 
of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  * 

"By  dint  of  indomitable  Chicago  energy, 
and  God's  blessing,  the  present  building  was 
erected  because  Chicago,  like  it,  has  grown  too 
small  for  your  use.  Mr.  Moody  then  went  to 
England  for  his  first  missionary  tour,  the  prep- 
aration for  which,  he  himself  says,  came  to  him 
largely  through  the  work  of  this  Association. 

"On  his  return  to  this  country,  New  York, 
Philadelphia  and  Chicago  built  him  great  tab- 
ernacles, in  which  he  preached  the  gospel  to 
unnumbered  thousands,  and  thus  he  *  gathered 
up  twelve  baskets  full  of  fragments,'  from 
the  bread   that  was  broken  here,    under  the 

137 


^ome  ilecollettion^  of 


blessing  of  the  Master.  At  the  conclusion  of 
his  work  in  the  Chicago  tabernacle,  our  lib- 
eral business  men  who  had  built  it  as  a  thank- 
offering  for  such  a  man,  for  such  a  work, 
paid  the  debt  which  two  baptisms  of  fire  had 
left  on  the  building  we  are  about  to  bury,  and 
thus  made  the  Association  a  free  agent  to  ask 
for  yearly  contributions,  not  to  pay  debts, 
but  to  carry  the  Water  of  Life  to  our  young 
men,  through  all  these  years  up  to  the  present 
time.  The  work  has  grown  so  rapidly  that  a 
new  building  —  the  largest  and  best  in  the 
world  —  is  soon  to  crown  the  liberal  thought 
and  deed  of  Chicago's  most  liberal  citizens. 
But  I  must  not  trench  on  the  resurrection 
part  of  this  service,  and  I,  therefore,  gladly 
yield  to  the  one  who  performs  that  part, 
simply  saying  in  conclusion  that  when  the 
first  meeting  was  held  to  consider  a  new  and 
appropriate  building  for  your  work,  I  said, 
"It  will  be  much  easier  now  to  raise  the  money 
for  a  twelve-story  first-class  building  than  it 
was  to  build  the  first  one.  This  Association 
has  done  a  work  that  commends  it  to  the 
thoughtful  people  of  our  city,  and  they  will 
now  build  you  a  building  worthy  of  themselves, 
because  you  deserve  it.'  " 

REMINISCENCE    DAY    AT     MOODY'S 
CHURCH. 

We  are  met  not   to  celebrate  the  discovery 
of    America    by    Columbus,  but    the    discov- 
138 


S^ol^n  B.  f  artoell 


ery  of  Dwight  L.  Moody  by  the  Lord  Jesus, 
through  the  agency  of  this  Sunday  School, 
which  was  first  established  in  the  North  Mar- 
ket Hall  —  then  the  police  headquarters  for 
the  northern  portion  of  our  city — as  an  agency 
to  convert  spears  into  pruning  hooks.  Four 
hundred  years  have  borne  witness  to  the  im- 
portance of  Columbus'  discovery,  and  a  little 
more  than  thirty  years  have  testified  to  the 
magnitude  of  this  school's  work  in  training 
one  godly  man  for  the  business  of  training  a 
host  of  others,  in  turning  the  world  upside 
down,  which  has  been  decidedly  wrongside  up 
since  Adam's  disobedience.  The  Master  first 
began  this  work  in  earnest,  with  little  encour- 
agement from  other  men,  who  little  knew  then 
what  would  come  of  it.  Before  my  mind's  eye 
there  appeared  a  hungry  multitude  following 
Him,  and  spell-bound  *'by  the  gracious  words 
that  proceeded  out  of  His  mouth,"  and  He 
said,  I  have  compassion  on  the  multitudes 
because  they  have  now  been  with  me  three 
days  and  have  nothing  to  eat.  And,  to  prove 
His  disciples  He  asked,  "Whence  shall  we  buy 
bread  that  these  may  eat?"  Andrew  answered: 
''There  is  a  lad  here  which  hath  five  barley 
loaves  and  two  small  fishes,  but  what  are 
these  among  so  many.?"  The  Master  blessed 
these  and  gave  to  the  disciples,  and  they  to  the 
multitudes,  and  the  record  is  "they  did  all  eat 
and  were  filled,  and  twelve  baskets  full  of  frag- 
ments were  gathered  up  of  what  remained." 

139 


^mnt  MtttAlcttim^  of 


Other  scenes  press  upon  me  this  afternoon 
in  this  presence;  other  hungry  multitudes, 
upon  which  the  Master  was  looking  from  the 
battlements  of  heaven,  and  another  lad  with 
five  loaves  and  two  httle  fishes  was  here  to  offer 
himself  and  all  he  had  that  they  might  be 
filled,  when  this  Sunday  School  was  organized  in 
the  North  Market  Hall  in  this  city  that  Dwight 
L.  Moody  might  there  get  a  training  that  should 
fit  him  to  lead  the  flock  of  God  as  a  cosmopoli- 
tan shepherd  from  Chicago  to  London. 

I  remember  the  first  sermon  he  consented, 
after  urgent  appeals,  to  preach  to  a  little 
gathering  in  the  Illinois  Street  School  building 
in  the  place  of  a  theological  student  who 
failed  him.  This  was  after  years  of  recruit- 
ing service  at  the  hall.  He  had  "tarried  at 
Jerusalem  until  he  was  endued  with  power 
from  on  high,"  and  from  that  time  on,  until  I 
heard  him  preach  to  25,000  people  in  Agricul- 
tural Hall,  in  London,  with  more  than  25,000 
outside  who  could  not  get  in,  this  first  gradu- 
ate of  this  school  of  the  prophets  has  had  his 
little  stock  increased  until  he  is  wanted 
wherever  hungry  men  can  appreciate  Him 
who  has  compassion  on  the  multitude,  because 
he  feeds  them  with  the  bread  which  came 
down  from  heaven,  and  not  upon  the  husks  of 
our  unsanctified  worldly  wisdom  "not  mixed 
with  the  sincere  milk  of  the  world." 

The  crying  needs  of  the  poor  in  this  great 
city  was  the  inspiration — from  a  human  stand- 
140 


^m  15.  f  artocil 


point  —  of  his  training  for  his  great  work;  but 
more  than  that,  he  learned  the  command, 
"Give  ye  them  to  eat,"  and  his  pentecostal 
preparation  followed  obedience  in  the  use  of 
what  he  had,  which  seemed  so  small  to  him 
that  he  had  to  be  urged  to  speak  to  only  a 
handful  of  hearers.  Would  to  God  that  this 
object  lesson  of  loyalty  to  God  with  what  one 
has,  and  its  results,  could  be  photographed 
upon  the  mind  of  every  young  man  who  as- 
pires to  the  office  of  under-shepherd  to  Him 
who  gave  His  life  for  the  sheep. 

But  this  is  only  what  we  have  seen.  What 
shall  we  see  of  what  is  to  come  from  this 
church  and  Sunday  School,  and  from  the 
schools  at  Northfield;  and  last,  but  not  least, 
from  the  gospel  training  school  for  men  and 
women  which  joins  this  church,  which  has  oc- 
cupied the  head  and  heart  of  Mr.  Moody  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century;  that  here, 
where  there  is  so  much  need,  there  might  be 
built  up  an  institution  that  would  furnish  agen- 
cies far  more  efficient  than  our  police  force 
to  make  our  city  not  only  safe  to  dwell  in,  but 
the  abode  of  honest  thrift,  reinforced  by  the 
wide  diffusion  among  the  masses  of  the  relig- 
ion of  the  Galilean  carpenter,  for  which  this 
training  school  is  especially  intended  and 
adapted.  The  work  done  by  its  students  in 
this  the  last  year  is  only  an  earnest  of  what  is 
to  come,  and  I  trust  every  one  who  loves  God 
and  this  city  will  send  for  reports  of  this  work, 
141 


2FoI)n  B.  f  artodi 


and  become  its  prayerful  and  financial  sup- 
porter; for  most  certainly  no  heartfelt  and  finan- 
cial investment  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel 
among  those  who  are  destitute  of  its  teachings 
will  bring  such  large  results.  Another  out- 
growth of  this  Sunday  School  is  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
work.  The  Chicago  Association  was  the  first 
to  build  a  building  for  its  use,  which  could  not 
have  been  done  but  for  the  energy  and  tact  of 
Mr.  Moody  in  making  the  Association  an  ag- 
gressive agent  for  the  good  of  young  men. 
This  one  building  as  an  example  has  been 
followed  by  the  most  appropriate  structures 
in  almost  every  principal  town  of  Great  Britain 
and  America,  and,  as  a  result,  sectarian  con- 
troversies have  been  reduced  to  a  minimum, 
and  the  practical  unity  of  the  Christian  church 
better  exemplified  than  ever  before  in  its  his- 
tory. These  agencies,  one  and  all,  as  the 
legitimate  outgrowth  of  this  Sunday  School, 
through  Jesus  Christ's  co-operation  with  its 
indomitable  originator,  will  go  on  making  dis- 
coveries of  living  men  and  women,  who  will,  as 
co-workers  and  successors,  continue  to  sow 
the  good  seed  of  the  Kingdom  until  the  Great 
Reaper  shall  gather  in  the  harvest,  and  say 
to  them  all,  **  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto 
one  of  the  least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  did 
it  unto  me." 


142 


Letters!  from  abroati 


C.  H.  SPURGEON 

London,  April  17,  li 
To  THE  Editor  Chicago  Inter  Ocean: 

YOU  have  kindly  allowed  your  readers  to 
see  some  phases  of  England,  as  shown  in 
Christian  work  for  such  as  have  no  ca- 
thedral stalls  or  chapel  pews,  well  cushioned, 
as  a  part  of  their  worldly  possessions. 

Perhaps  no  name  in  religious  annals  will 
shine  brighter  than  that  of  Charles  Haddon 
Spurgeon,  as  a  leader  in  practical  work  for  the 
millions  outside  of  the  higher  circles  in  Eng- 
land, when  the  focused  light  of  eternity  shall 
reveal  results.  Just  now  he  is  emerging  from 
a  conflict  with  so-called  ''Broad  Church" 
ideas,  in  his  own  denomination,  growing  out 
of  his  ''down  grade"  statements  of  the  pres- 
ent tendency  of  religious  thought;  and  it  has 
extended  to  all  denominations  in  the  severe 
criticisms  which  his  "down  grade"  article  has 
evoked. 

Some  of  his  financial  supporters  in  the  past 
have  in  consequence  withheld  their  pounds, 
shillings,  and  pence  from  the  treasury  of  his 
varied  works,  thinking,  perhaps,  that  they  were 
near  relations  of  Spurgeon's  Master,  and  that, 
therefore,  his  exchequer  would  want  for  funds, 

143 


^ome  UtttAltttmn^  of 


and  this  grand  old  servant  of  the  King  pass 
under  a  cloud  in  his  old  age,  as  "too  narrow 
for  this  nineteenth  century  of  progress." 

These  criticisms  have  only  made  him  more 
firm  in  the  truth  as  he  sees  it  in  God's  Word, 
and  the  recent  annual  reunion  of  his  college 
students  and  friends  was  made  the  occasion 
for  a  testimonial  to  his  fidelity  of  a  substantial 
kind.  Faithful  ambassadors  of  the  truth,  sent 
out  from  this  institution,  come  from  all  over 
the  kingdom  and  the  islands  of  the  sea,  were 
there  to  tell  that  "the  spirits  were  subject  to 
them" — as  their  testimony  amply  proved — 
and  each  gave  their  alma  mater  due  honor  for 
sharpening  their  tools  for  such  work.  But 
when  the  president  said  that  from  all  denomi- 
nations of  Christians  he  had  received  as  sin- 
cere sympathy  as  from  his  own,  and  then  added 
that  he  hoped  the  discussion  over  ''down 
grade"  would  end  in  a  more  substantial  union 
of  all  Bible  Christians,  a  chord  was  struck  that 
I  hope  will  vibrate  with  the  music  of  the  i/th 
chapter  of  John,  until  the  word  schism  will 
have  to  be  marked  obsolete  in  all  Christian 
dictionaries,  and  unity  in  diversity,  such  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  first  twelve  disciples  of  our 
Lord,  becomes  a  landmark  of  Christian  prog- 
ress. His  training  college  was  instituted,  in 
the  words  of  its  founder,  "to  give  further 
instruction  to  young  men  who  have  already 
proved  themselves  to  be  efficient  preachers." 
It  has  existed  as  a  school  of  the  prophets  for 
144 


S^oljn  1^.  f  artDcH 


thirty-two  years,  and  has  sent  out  762  young 
men,  with  weapons  sharpened  in  its  classes 
for  the  conflict  against  sin. 

May  its  shadow  never  grow  less,  and  may 
its  president  live  long  to  see  and  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  his  heaven-born  work  still  to  be  done 
in  the  name  of  the  King,  as  it  has  been  in 
the  past. 

As  indicating  one  kind  of  training  in  prac- 
tical work,  only  incidental  to  their  studies, 
through  which  these  young  men  went,  this 
year's  report  says:  "In  apostolic  order  our 
brethren  have  gone  forth  in  pairs,  and  have 
thus  mutually  encouraged  each  other  in  the 
work.  During  the  year  our  brethren  have 
worked  forty-seven  districts,  visited  2,121 
houses,  3,777  families,  and  distributed  4,027 
sermons,  and  again  and  again  their  hearts 
have  been  cheered  by  the  warm  welcome 
given  them,  and  the  readiness  with  which  the 
sermons  have  been  received.  There  is  abun- 
dant evidence  to  show  that  in  the  hearts  of  the 
common  people  the  name  of  our  president  is 
revered  and  treasured.  The  visitor  himself 
derives  much  good.  Experience  gained  by 
intercourse  with  a  vast  variety  of  characters 
and  dispositions  is  most  valuable;  a  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature  is  thus  obtained  which 
could  be  acquired  nowhere  else."  Would  not 
our  own  theological  seminaries  everywhere  do 
well  to  copy  this  professorship  in  educating 
young  men  for  the  ministry.?  "The  common 
145 


^ome  itccotlection^  of 


people "  are  the  vast  majority,  which  the 
church  is  organized  to  reach  with  the  gospel 
of  ** Grace  and  Truth"  which  comes  "by 
Jesus  Christ,"  its  founder,  who  took  twelve 
men  from  the  common  people  and  only  one 
from  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  the  great  theologi- 
cal teacher  of  that  day,  as  a  beginning  in 
sending  forth  ministers  to  disciple  the  world. 
Even  that  one  he  had  to  convert  with  a 
thunderbolt  before  he  was  even  fit  for  train- 
ing, and  then  sent  him  to  a  layman  in  Da- 
mascus to  have  his  eyes  opened  before  going 
on  a  foreign  mission  to  the  Arabs,  as  his  first 
training  to  be  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles ;  and  his  success  may  be  attributed,  from 
the  human  side,  to  his  becoming  "all  things  to 
all  men,  that  he  might  by  all  means  save 
some"  by  preaching  Christ  and  His  Word  as 
the  great  lever  to  move  rich  and  poor  alike. 
Peter,  the  fisherman,  and  Paul,  Gamaliel's  pupil, 
were  both  used  as  preachers,  not  because  they 
were  or  were  not  graduates  of  any  particular 
human  school  of  theology,  but  because  their 
call  and  commission  were  signed  and  sealed  on 
Calvary  and  delivered  to  them  on  some  day 
of  Pentecost,  when  the  Fire  of  God  made 
them  red-hot  for  the  truth,  just  as  all  men, 
in  all  ages  of  the  church,  have  been  commis- 
sioned, and  then  found  acceptance  with  God 
and  men  as  religious  teachers.  Pauls  and 
Peters,  Luthers,  Melanchthons,  Wesleys  and 
Whitfields,  Spurgeons  and  Moodys,  are  al- 
146 


foljn  1^.  f artoell 


ways  in  the  apostolic  succession,  no  matter 
what  divisions  of  the  grand  army  they  may 
lead,  and  always  have  something  more  than 
creeds  to  endorse  their  calls  to  the  ministry. 
We  cannot  go  far  wrong  in  adopting  the 
methods  and  principles  of  any  men  in  any  busi- 
ness who  are  eminently  successful  in  their 
work;  and  any  man,  who,  like  Spurgeon,  has 
delivered  more  than  two  thousand  sermons 
that  have  been,  or  will  be,  printed  and  read 
by  millions,  may  well  challenge  the  world  of 
preachers  of  the  present  day,  as  well  as  those 
who  are  to  come  after  him,  by  precept  as  well 
as  example.  Let  them  ''preach  the  Word,"  if 
they  would  share  with  him  the  honors  of  suc- 
cessful preaching. 

KNOX    AND    CHALMERS 

SPECIAL   CORRESPONDENCE 

Edinburgh,  August  4,  1889. 

After  visiting  Holyrood,  the  castle,  and  the 
Forth  Bridge  yesterday,  I  found  myself  to- 
day looking  for  other  voices  from  the  dead 
past  and  the  living  present  than  those  which 
find  their  inspirations  uninfluenced  by  **the 
despised  Nazarene,"  and  my  feet  in  such  a 
search  naturally  tended  towards  the  John 
Knox  Memorial  Church,  built  adjoining  his 
residence,  and  not  far  from  the  place  where 
that  great  apostle  of  Scotland  lies  buried. 

On  entering  the  church,  your  eyes  are 
greeted  with  the  names  of  Knox  and  Chalmers 
147 


^omc  iUccoIIectton^  of 


in  the  stained  glass  windows  on  either  side  of 
the  pulpit.  It  was  said  of  the  first  martyr, 
**  being  dead  He  yet  speaketh."  Knox  and 
Chalmers  were  not  martyrs,  but  of  no  two  men 
can  this  be  more  truthfully  spoken.  "Give 
me  Scotland,  or  I  die,"  finds  an  answer  to  an 
importunate  prayer  in  every  true  Christian 
heart  in  Scotland,  and  there  are  thousands  of 
them,  like  their  great  leader,  ready  for  service 
or  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  a  pure  religion. 

Coming  up  the  streets  of  Edinburgh  yester- 
day, a  uniformed  company  of  boys  met  us, 
apparently  the  picture  of  contentment.  On 
asking  what  these  boys  represented  I  found 
they  were  a  detachment  of  Chalmers'  "ragged 
schools."  He  has  been  dead  forty-two  years, 
and  Knox  over  three  hundred,  but  their  clear 
voices  yet  ring  out  over  these  green  hills  and 
lawns  like  marriage  bells,  and  this  Memorial 
Church  is  the  sounding-board  which  helps  to 
carry  them  to  the  end  of  the  earth,  as  well  as 
all  over  Scotland.  The  tales  of  blood  which 
Holyrood  and  Edinburgh  Castle  bear  upon 
their  walls  also  speak,  but  what  a  contrast  in 
the  sound  of  their  voices  in  the  ears  of  the  living 
men  of  to-day.  Who  would  not  rather  be  a 
Knox  or  a  Chalmers  or  one  of  their  earnest 
following  as  they  followed  our  Master,  even  if 
they  found  a  Covenanter's  untimely  grave,  than 
be  the  proudest  monarch  that  ever  graced  the 
halls  of  either  of  those  palaces.?  "  Mons 
Meg"  was  the  monitor  of  these,  while  the 
148 


3^of)n  B.  f  artoell 


"sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of 
God,"  was  the  weapon  of  Knox  and  Chal- 
mers, "and  their  works  do  follow  them,  "  aye, 
"blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord." 
They  never  want  for  monuments  that  speak 
to  the  living,  from  the  same  sublime  pedestal 
of  eternal  truth,  whose  base  is  the  "great 
white  throne." 

I  was  anxious  to  hear  a  minister,  standing 
between  the  names  of  Knox  and  Chalmers, 
and  so  I  entered  this  Memorial  Church  —  and 
was  most  agreeably  fed  —  not  amused — by  a 
free  exposition  of  the  twenty-third  chapter  of 
Jeremiah,  and  of  the  first  chapter  of  John's 
gospel,  the  first  being  a  denunciation  of  false 
prophets,  feeding  the  sheep  on  their  own 
thoughts,  rather  than  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  second  a  clear  exposition  of  the  Good 
Shepherd's  manner  of  finding  His  people  — 
making  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  verses  the 
marrow  of  his  discourse  —  the  object  being  to 
direct  attention  first  to  the  fact  that  faithful 
pastors  preach  the  word  of  the  Lord  and  not 
their  own  thoughts,  and  then  to  show  us  the 
way  of  salvation,  as  spoken  by  Christ's  beloved 
disciple  about  his  Master:  **To  as  many  as 
received  Him,  to  them  gave  He  power  to  be- 
come the  sons  of  God." 

The  twelfth  verse,  without  the  thirteenth, 

would  mislead  a  disciple  to  think  that  his  faith 

had  done  the  work  of  making  him  a  true  son  of 

God,  but  the  thirteenth  verse  reduces  human 

149 


^ome  iUccoIIcction^  of 


effort  to  a  minimum,  and  shows  that  it  is  God 
who  works  in  the  true  behever  to  make  him  a 
son.  He  illustrated  these  two  verses  with 
Peter's  experience  in  walking  on  the  water  to 
go  to  Jesus.  Faith  gave  him  a  good  start, 
but  it  was  only  when  he  said,  "Lord,  save  or 
I  perish,"  that  he  was  safe  from  the  perils  of 
an  over-confident  self-trust,  or  a  faltering 
faith  in  his  Master.  He  made  it  very  clear 
that  a  spiritual  birth  was  God's  work  in  the 
soul  of  man.  Knox  and  Chalmers  must  have 
said  "amen"  to  every  word  he  said,  if  their 
spirits  were  to  record  their  approval  of  one, 
who  at  least  gave  the  people  the  word  of  God 
instead  of  his  own  for  their  spiritual  food. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  criticize  the  Lord's 
under-shepherds.  May  He  lead  them  all  "to 
preach  His  word,"  so  they  can  say,  like  Paul, 
when  done  with  their  work,  "I  have  not 
shunned  to  declare  unto  you  the  w^hole  coun- 
sel of  God."  In  the  hands  of  such  men  His 
word  shall  be  like  fire,  like  a  hammer  in  the 
hands  of  a  skillful  workman. 

Ruined  castles  are  all  over  England  and 
Scotland,  reared  to  gratify  human  ambition 
for  wordly  power.  They  have  gone  to  decay, 
while  ''the  word  of  the  Lord,"  as  preached 
by  John  Knox,  has  been — silently  —  like  fire 
and  hammer  —  building  up  an  individual  and 
national  character  on  a  Christian  basis,  until 
men  quietly  put  $15,000,000  into  one  bridge 
over  a  natural  barrier  to  make  easy  communi- 
150 


S^oftn  B.  f  attoell 


cation  between  sections  which  in  early  times 
had  their  castles  to  prevent  such  communica- 
tions with  each  other.  The  John  Knox 
Memorial  Church  and  the  Forth  Bridge  of  to- 
day (one  of  the  greatest  feats  of  engineering 
skill  and  human  business  pluck  on  earth)  are 
in  the  pedigree  of  human  progress  —  one  the 
pioneer,  the  other  the  full-grown  physical  rep- 
resentation of  the  power  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  to  unify  the  feudal  factions  of  a  dis- 
cordant humanity  and  make  them  help  and 
not  murder  each  other. 


London,  August  8,  1885, 
To-day  Brother  Jonathan  is  in  mourning, 
from  New  Orleans  to  New  York,  from  Flori- 
da to  Oregon  —  because  the  man  who  made 
peace  in  that  family,  at  the  cost  of  more  hu- 
man lives  than  any  war  of  conquest  that  has 
made  Europe  red  with  blood,  has  had  to  obey 
that  summons  which  gathers  all  nations  into 
the  last  muster  roll.  The  value  of  his  serv- 
ices in  giving  peace  to  a  great  nation,  rent 
with  civil  war,  at  such  a  cost,  is  yet  only  dimly 
seen  in  the  emblems  of  mourning  in  the  Con- 
federate South  to  commemorate  his  death. 

Only  Grant,  as  a  soldier,  could  balance  in 
the  scales  of  future  history  for  America  the 
value  of  a  safe  and  united  government  for  a 
great  continent  hke  ours.  The  lives  and  treas- 
ures that  were  sacrificed  to  obtain  this  grand 
object  were  to  him  a  trifle  compared  with 
151 


^ome  MtttAltction^  of 


the  object  gained.  Other  men — generals  in 
the  army  and  private  citizens — looked  the 
price  in  the  face  and  said,  in  words  and  in 
hesitation,  "Let  our  erring  brethren  go  in 
peace,"  and  armed  hundreds  of  thousands 
only  asked  for  that  privilege;  but  General 
Grant's  answer  to  that  request  was,  "Uncon- 
ditional surrender;  I  propose  to  move  immedi- 
ately on  your  works." 

It  is  a  happy  omen,  indeed,  that  the  Con- 
federate general  who  had  to  yield  to  this  per- 
suasive language  was  one  of  the  pall-bearers 
to  carry  General  Grant  gently  to  his  last  rest- 
ing place,  and  that  the  crepe  hangs  aHke  from 
Northern  and  Southern  homes,  again  united 
without  a  jarring  element  in  all  their  material 
interests  to  again  threaten  the  unity  and  in- 
tegrity of  a  government  and  a  country  des- 
tined to  eclipse  all  others  in  the  grandeur 
of  their  onward  march.  Old  England,  who 
once  spilt  the  blood  of  her  best  sons  to  keep 
America  under  the  Union  Jack,  has  spelled  out 
the  great  meaning  of  this  amity  of  feeling. 
North  and  South,  in  our  country — and  seeing 
even  better  than  we  now  can  the  value  of  it  — 
opens  for  the  first  time  in  her  history  West- 
minster Abbey  to  commemorate  the  death  of 
a  foreign  general. 

General  Grant,  because  of  the  value  of  his 

services  to  the  world,  as  well  as  to  America,  in 

saving  the  Union,  has  his  name  enrolled  among 

England's   great    men.     If  we   weep    at    the 

152 


S^oJ^n  15.  f  artodi 


same  grave,  surely  we  shall  rejoice  around  the 
same  board  over  our  common  victories  of 
peace.  PoHtically,  both  parties  were  repre- 
sented at  this  ceremony.  Gladstone,  the 
* 'grand  old  man"  of  the  Liberals  was  there. 
The  Conservative  leaders  were  there,  and  none 
could  distinguish  English  and  Americans  ex- 
cept by  the  seat  set  aside  for  each  in  the  great 
throng  which  gathered  to  do  honor  to  the 
memory  of  America's  great  soldier. 

The  commemoration  of  one  of  the  great 
victories  of  peace  for  both  nations  occurred 
this  week  also,  under  the  auspices  of  Cyrus  W. 
Field  of  New  York,  with  a  grand  dinner,  in 
celebration  of  the  anniversary  of  the  successful 
union  of  England  and  America  by  means  of 
the  Atlantic  cable.  The  whole  thing  was  con- 
ceived and  executed  by  Mr.  Field  with  a  view 
to  showing  off  to  the  best  advantage  the  real 
good  feehng  which  is  now  existing  between 
these  two  great  countries.  Senator  Hawley 
and  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  were  peculiarly 
happy  in  their  recognition  of  the  importance 
as  well  as  the  fact  of  such  relations. 

I  was  proud  of  these  Americans  abroad  — 
using  their  privileges  to  celebrate  a  great  com- 
mercial fact  of  such  importance,  especially  to 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  on  these 
lines.  Their  shadows  will  never  grow  less  upon 
other  countries  while  they  vie  with  each  in 
cultivating  every  opportunity  to  express  a  com- 
mon interest  in  each  other's  progress  through 

153 


^ome  iSecoIlection^  nf 


their  great  and  successful  men,  who  are  the 
bone  and  sinew  of  all  governments  whose  ob- 
ject is  to  conserve  the  best  interests  of  their 
own  people,  and  by  so  doing  exert  a  powerful 
influence  upon  other  nations  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. ''Government  by  the  people  and  for  the 
people"  will  never  fade  from  the  earth  if 
England  and  America  join  hands  in  giving  an 
example  to  the  world  of  the  best  results  of  a 
wise  administration  of  such  a  government. 

General  Grant  —  peace  to  his  ashes  and  all 
honor  to  his  memory  for  having  fixed  the  apex 
of  our  governmental  pyramid  in  a  permanent 
union  of  all  the  states,  cemented  with  the 
blood  of  their  best  sons.  England  and  Amer- 
ica—  united  by  every  argument  of  material 
interests,  as  well  ^s  by  electric  wire  of  a  com- 
mon language  and  a  common  literature — may 
their  moral  and  physical  powers  be  united  to 
give  peace  to  all  mankind  and  in  all  their 
future  history. 

THE    WORLD'S    Y.  M.  C.  A. 
THE  STOCKHOLM  CONVENTION 

SPECIAL  CORRESPONDENCE 

Berlin,  August  22,  1888. 
The  Chicago  Inter  Ocean: 

It  may  not  be  known  to  your  readers  that 
the  King  of  Sweden  at  the  last  world's  con- 
vention invited  the  next  one  to  convene  at 
Stockholm  in  1888.  Such  is  the  fact.  It 
may  not  be  known  in  Chicago  that  Carter  H. 
154 


2Fal)n  B.  f  artocll 


Harrison,  mayor  of  Chicago,  arranged  his  trip 
around  the  world  to  be  there  at  the  opening. 
From  these  two  facts  your  readers  will  at 
one  realize  the  importance  of  this  gathering. 

You  will  see  at  a  glance  that  Chicago's 
great  mayor  has  designs  upon  this  planet 
identical  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  The  begin- 
ning of  Prussia's  greatness  as  a  power  began 
when  Frederick  gained  a  victory  over  the 
Swedes  nearly  two  hundred  years  ago,  and 
now  she  seems  to  be  the  arbiter  of  the  peace 
of  Europe.  Carter  Harrison,  having  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  conquered  the 
King  of  Sweden  by  love,  instead  of  the  sword, 
indicates  him  as  a  candidate  for  president  of 
the  Chicago  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  that  the  dove 
of  peace  and  purity  is  soon  to  hover  over  all 
lands.  At  all  events,  no  one  could  have  seen 
our  ex-mayor  benignantly  looking  down  from 
the  gallery  of  one  of  the  largest  churches  in 
Sweden  upon  this  gathering  of  young  men, 
from  Australia  to  Russia,  to  consider  ways 
and  means  for  bringing  young  men  into  one 
army  for  the  conquest  of  the  world,  under 
the  banner  of  the  cross,  without  wishing  that 
he  was  really  a  leader  in  that  army. 

The  personnel  of  this  convention  ranged  from 
the  presiding  officer,  the  archbishop  of  Upsala, 
with  Count  Bernstorf,  from  Berlin,  and  other 
notables  to  assist,  to  a  quiet  layman  from  Spain, 
who  is  now  under  an  indictment  and  fine,  and 
waiting  imprisonment  on  his  return,  for  not 

155 


^nmt  Uttolltttion^  of 


bowing  to  the  host  as  it  was  borne  through  the 
streets  of  one  of  the  httle  provincial  towns  of  his 
once  great  nation.  Let  Irishmen  in  America 
make  a  note  of  this,  and  thank  God  that  they 
Hve  under  a  Protestant  government,  where  they 
can  worship  God  as  they  please  without  molesta- 
tion, and  that  our  country  has  more  religious 
and  civil  liberty,  and  more  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  members  than  all  the  world 
besides.  Ireland  was  represented  by  a  warm- 
hearted typical  Irishman,  who  believes  in  such 
liberty,  and  in  such  associations.  He  invited 
the  next  convention  of  English  associations  to 
come  to  his  country  for  their  National  Council. 
John  Bull  was  there  to  cheer  him  to  the  echo,  in 
token  that  all  under  the  banner  of  love  see  eye 
to  eye,  and  act  heart  to  heart,  and  hand 
to  hand. 

The  church  where  the  convention  was  held 
was  built  by  a  favorite  pastor  of  the  state 
church,  by  permission  of  the  king,  and  is 
crowded  with  hearers  because  it  is  practically 
a  free  church,  with  a  free  gospel  in  its  purity, 
stripped  of  all  the  unnecessary  forms  and  cere- 
monies, which,  alas,  in  many  state  churches  in 
other  parts  of  the  world,  as  well  as  Sweden, 
compose  too  much  of  the  service. 

When  the  king  was  in  great  trouble,  not 
long  since,  fearing  that  a  surgical  operation 
would  cause  the  death  of  the  queen,  he  called 
his  pastor  to  the  palace  to  pray  for  a  success- 
ful issue  before  the  surgeons  began,  and  after 
156 


foljn  B.  fartDril 


the  Operation  to  render  thanks  for  a  gracious 
answer  to  the  prayer,  while  the  court  ministers 
and  prominent  state  officials  listened  with 
tearful  eyes  to  the  story  of  answered  prayer. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  king  and  queen 
are  earnest  Christians,  or  that  he  should  invite 
this  body  of  believers  from  all  lands  to  meet 
in  his  capital,  and  give  them  a  reception  at 
his  palace,  as  the  closing  act  in  this  world's 
convention  of  Christian  young  men?  Would 
God  that  all  of  this  world's  kings  could  real- 
ize the  power  of  prayer,  and  turn  their  swords 
into  plowshares  of  peace  and  plenty,  and  let 
Him  whose  right  it  is  command  all  armies 
with  the  musical  language  of  love.  It  was  a 
most  interesting  sight  to  see  that  learned  and 
good  bishop  of  one  state  church  presiding  over 
the  deliberations  of  the  convention,  and  inter- 
preting its  many  languages  for  all,  so  that  by 
one  man  a  babel  of  tongues  was  melted  into  the 
hearts  of  all.  It  reminded  me  of  another 
gathering,  when  devout  men  of  all  nations 
heard  the  wonderful  works  of  God  from  un- 
learned fishermen,  "every  one  in  his  own 
tongue."  Aye,  and  of  another  in  the  future, 
when  the  Master  Himself  will  interpret  every 
Christian  act  to  His  own  followers,  with  "In- 
asmuch as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  Me."  Such  are  the  real,  wonderful 
works  of  God,  because  they  reunite  the  whole 
family  of  God,  whose  distinctions  will  only  ap- 
157 


^ome  iSccolIcttion^  of 


pear  to  denote  the  character  and  ampHtude  of 
such  works  of  self-denial  for  Christ's  sake,  in 
doing  good  to  others.  One  member  said  to 
me:  "I  could  not  understand  the  words,  but 
the  eye  and  voice  spoke  to  me  that  they  were 
my  brothers  in  Christ." 

A  little  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  in  Chi- 
cago, the  sectarian  side  of  Christian  dogma- 
tism fought  the  organization  of  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  as  detrimental  to  the 
work  of  the  churches,  and  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  of  the  Grace  of  God  were  the  leaders 
of  this  opposition.  Now,  these  associations 
are  numbered  by  thousands  all  over  the  Chris- 
tian world,  and  millions  of  money  have  gone 
into  permanent  homes  for  them,  while  other 
millions  are  annually  expended  in  the  prose- 
cution of  their  work  for  young  men.  Thus  the 
logic  of  active  work  has  made  history  of 
which  the  churches  may  well  be  proud,  and 
she  may  well  lay  her  hand  in  ordination  and 
consecration  upon  every  stone  laid  in  these 
buildings  and  every  young  man  who  has  had 
the  grace  and  courage  to  take  part  in  their 
history. 

George  Williams,  of  London,  the  founder  of 
the  associations,  still  young  and  fresh  in 
spirit,  was,  and  is  still,  one  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent supporters  of  what  his  head  and  heart 
first  gave  to  the  church  as  one  of  her  most 
active  agencies  for  good.  He  and  his  work 
shall  never  die,  but  continue,  after  the  real 
158 


S^ol)n  B.  f  attoril 


King  is  crowned,  as  stars  to  deck  his  diadem 
"for  ever  and  ever"  in  *'the  new  heavens  and 
the  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteous- 
ness." He  is  a  member  of  the  state  church 
of  England,  but  he  sees  a  real  true  church 
member  in  the  poorest  man  who  has  been 
taught  to  pray,  "God,  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner";  for  such  a  prayer  means  justification 
direct  from  the  Author  of  the  church,  whether 
a  sectarian  name  or  no  name  other  than  Chris- 
tian is  the  inheritance  of  his  daily  Christ-like 
deeds.  Around  him  in  this  convention  was  a 
family  of  nations,  represented  by  Christian 
young  men,  from  whom  was  sent  out  one 
young  man,  Mr.  Wishard,  the  recent  college 
secretary  of  the  International  Convention  of 
the  United  States,  as  a  world's  missionary  to 
the  young  men  of  all  nations.  This  may  seem 
a  bold  undertaking  for  one  young  man.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  the  fact  that  a  college-trained 
young  man,  after  a  successful  work  of  ten 
years  among  college  boys  in  America,  finds  it 
laid  upon  his  heart  to  take  up  such  a  mission, 
indicates  more  to  me  than  I  dare  commit  to 
printer's  ink.  With  the  co-operation  of  the 
real  missionaries  in  his  track  around  the  world, 
I  shall  look  for  results  far  beyond  any  merely 
intellectual  computation  of  the  value  of  human 
agency.  I  shall  not  touch  the  details  of  the 
convention's  work,  as  connected  with  the 
discussions  regarding  the  various  means  for 
increasing  the    usefulness  of  these    organiza- 

159 


^ome  iHecoIIection^  of 


tions.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  they  were  in- 
tensely practical. 

The  paper  by  Mr.  Tritton,  a  ^London  banker, 
and  president  of  the  Exeter  Hall  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  on  "The  Means  to  Be 
Used  for  the  Conversion  of  Young  Men,  and 
for  Their  Spiritual  Development,"  and  one 
by  Mr.  Auld,  of  Scotland,  on  ''The  Mutual 
Duties  of  Members  of  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations,"  were  most  admirable  produc- 
tions. Both  of  these  men  are  active  workers 
in  Association  work,  from  whence  they  have 
dug  out  gems  of  knowledge  for  any  who  are 
inclined  to  follow  their  example. 

Secretary  Morse,  of  New  York,  read  a  pa- 
per on  "American  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations,  their  Forms  of  Organization, 
and  the  Progress  of  their  Work  since  1884," 
which  must  say  to  many  other  companies, 
''Go  thou  and  do  likewise." 

Germany  sent  fifty  delegates,  nine  of  whom 
were  pastors.  America  sent  fifty-four  dele- 
gates, ten  of  whom  were  pastors.  Great 
Britain  and  her  colonies  sent  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  delegates,  leading  all  other  nations, 
as  she  usually  does  in  such  things.  All  honor 
to  England  for  this,  not  the  least  of  her  logi- 
cal acts,  in  proof  of  her  real  greatness. 

Of  the  three  hundred  and  two  delegates,  Eng- 
land, America,  and  Germany  sent  two  hundred 
and  nineteen,  which  indicates  quite  correctly 
where  the  power  of  Christianity  has  built  her 
160 


^oifxi  B.  fartDclI 


monuments  of  political  as  well  as  religious 
liberty,  and  where  God  has  fulfilled,  nation- 
ally. His  promise,  **  Those  that  honor  Me  I 
will  honor."  We  can  well  point  to  those  three 
greatest  in  the  family  of  nations,  and  say,  **I 
am"  hath  done  it,  and  lo!  it  has  been  done. 
We  know  not  how,  and  scarcely  why,  but 
so   it   is. 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  Chicago  built 
the  first  building  for  the  use  of  a  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  and  sent  D.  L.  Moody, 
by  whose  courage  and  foresight  it  was  done, 
to  stir  up  old  England  to  realize  her  privileges 
and  follow  her  cousins  in  such  a  work. 

Her  chief  cities  are  now  fully  equipped  with 
such  homes  for  young  men,  and  now  a  native 
German,  F.  Von  Schlunbach,  converted  in 
America,  and  trained  there  in  association  work 
for  Germans,  is  employed  by  some  benevolent 
Enghsh  gentlemen  to  work  in  Germany,  and 
has  started  the  first  building  enterprise  in  Ber- 
lin. Thus  Old  England  and  New  England 
are  united  in  Him  to  give  Germany  a  work  for 
young  men  that  eventually  will  join  these  three 
great  countries  in  a  fraternity  all-powerful  for 
good  to  other  nations.  *'  How  great  a  matter 
a  little  fire  kindleth" — provided  it  be  the  fire 
of  Pentecost,  giving  hearts  and  tongues  a  fire 
for  practical  work. 

I  cannot  close  this  rambling  sketch  of  a  most 
remarkable  gathering  without  saying  that  I  was 
agreeably  surprised  at  the  intelligence  and  ap- 
i6i 


^ome  iSecolIcction^  of 


parent  thrift  of  the  Swedes,  and  more  by  their 
uniform  kindness  to  strangers.  They  could 
not  do  too  much.  One  wealthy  gentleman  in- 
vited the  whole  conference  to  his  country 
seat,  about  an  hour's  ride  through  most  pictur- 
esque scenery,  where  he  gave  nearly  eight 
hundred  guests  a  supper,  and  then  illuminated 
his  grounds  and  the  river  with  fireworks  as 
the  party  left  for  Stockholm. 

However,  it  is  no  place  for  Americans  to  go 
to  enter  the  ministry,  as  a  pastor  informed  me 
he  had  to  study  fifteen  years  to  be  a  minister, 
and  then  got  one  hundred  dollars  per  annum 
as  salary  for  his  services,  and  that  was  the 
rule  in  the  state  church.  They  are  housed  and 
fed  the  same  as  soldiers,  but  have  to  buy  their 
own  wardrobe.  That  they  can  live  on  such 
pay  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  this  age, when  we 
see  the  apparent  wealth  of  Stockholm,  the 
capital  of  the  country.  With  such  economy, 
how  many  inhabitants  would  the  United  States 
of  America  support  ? 

CASTLES    IN   GERMANY 

Berlin,  August  27,  1888. 
Napoleon  said,  ** Paris  is  France."  Em- 
peror William  and  Bismarck  have  said,  'Tn 
deeds  the  German  Empire  is  Berlin."  God's 
soil  and  sunshine,  combined  with  the  real  chem- 
istry of  human  brains  and  muscle,  always 
explain  the  aggregation  of  wealth  and  influ- 
ence necessary  to  imperial  greatness. 
162 


^offtt  1B.  f  artodi 


France  has  the  advantage  in  God's  gifts  of 
soil  and  dimate,  but  Germany  has  the  advan- 
tage in  the  inheritance  of  a  better  manhood, 
and  the  capital  cities  of  each  represent  ambi- 
tions, utihzing  these  gifts  to  meet  the  expec- 
tation of  constant  changes  in  the  one  and  of 
steady  permanence  in  the  other.  A  visit  to 
Potsdam,  where  Frederick  the  Great  began  the 
great  empire  which  William  the  First  com- 
pleted, recalls  incidents  to  illustrate  German 
manhood  more  forcibly  than  any  words  can 
do  it.  Let  us  take  a  stroll  through  the  Royal 
Palace,  whose  first  occupant  was  Frederick 
the  Great,  and  whose  bronze  statue  on  horse- 
back stands  on  Unter  den  Linden,  directly  in 
front  of  the  window  in  William  the  First's  pal- 
ace in  Berlin,  where  the  people  were  wont  to 
gather  at  twelve  o'clock  to  see  his  benignant 
face  looking  out  on  them  and  that  statue. 
The  room  of  most  interest  to  me  was  the  "con- 
fidential" room  —  small,  with  double  doors,  in 
a  wall  four  feet  thick  —  and  in  the  center  a 
round  table,  in  the  center  of  which  was  a 
round  dumb  waiter,  which  communicated  with 
the  commissary  department  below.  Here  this 
great  man  held  his  counsels  with  trusted 
friends,  in  building  an  empire.  Next  in  inter- 
est is  his  library  full  of  Voltaire's  works. 
Next  to  this  was  the  office  or  the  working 
room,  where  stands  the  writing-desk  from 
which  Napoleon  in  1807  took  a  piece  of  the 
velvet.  Upon  this  table,  of  course,  I  was 
163 


^ome  JSccoIlection^  of 


constrained  to  take  these  notes  and  then  pass 
on  to  the  music-room  and  strike  a  few  notes  on 
the  piano  which  made  the  music  for  Frederick 
the  Great.  You  can't  imagine  how  great  one 
feels  after  such  experiences.  Passing  through 
Marble  Hall,  Bronze  Room,  Social  Room, 
Reception  Room,  and  Pompeian  Room  we 
come  to  the  rooms  occupied  by  Louise,  the 
mother  of  William  the  First,  to  whom  he  gave 
a  pledge  on  her  death-bed  to  avenge  the  wrongs 
committed  by  Napoleon  the  First,  who  occupied 
these  same  rooms  for  four  days  when  this  great 
emperor  was  only  nine  years  old.  When  he 
inherited  the  throne,  he  occupied  his  mother's 
room,  it  may  be  to  keep  fresh  the  memory  of 
her  wrongs  and  of  his  own  pledge.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  Emperor  was  very  fond  of  a 
**blue  corn  flower"  that  grows  in  the  cornfields, 
and  the  following  fact  will  explain  why:  In  the 
queen's  flight  from  Potsdam  with  her  children, 
her  carriage  broke  down,  and  while  the  wheel 
was  being  mended,  the  boy  observed  his  mother 
in  tears,  and  gathered  a  bouquet  of  these 
flowers  for  her,  from  which  she  made  a  coronet 
and,  while  her  tears  fell  thick  and  fast,  placed 
on  the  boy's  head  the  crown  of  flowers,  which 
in  due  time  became  imperial  and  historic. 
Napoleon  III  at  the  close  of  the  recent  war 
surrendered  his  sword  to  William,  who  then 
redeemed  the  pledge  made  to  his  weeping 
mother  sixty  years  before.  Well  may  Ger- 
mans be  proud  of  William  the  First.  Every 
164 


g^oftn  t^.  5Fartoell 


mother  and  son  in  the  empire  needs  only  to 
know  this  history  to  make  them  every  inch 
patriots  and  soldiers. 

Aye,  and  well  may  his  grandson,  the  present 
young  emperor,  look  back  upon  his  ancestors 
with  pride,  and  say  to  himself:  ''With  God's 
help  I  will  bring  nothing  but  an  added  luster 
to  a  history  which  has  made  Germany  one,  by 
making  her  as  great  as  human  possibiHties, 
added  to  divine  gifts,  will  permit  me  to  do." 
One  of  the  stairways  to  this  palace  contains 
about  two  hundred  deer  horns,  one  buffalo 
head,  and  three  pair  of  wild  boar's  tusks, 
taken  in  November,  1885,  by  this  young  em- 
peror. In  driving  to  Potsdam,  it  was  my 
good  fortune  to  meet  him  in  a  carriage  with 
the  King  of  Denmark,  unattended  by  a  guard, 
and  in  a  simple  soldier's  cap,  which  he  tipped 
to  our  party  in  passing  the  carriage,  which 
had  halted  on  seeing  the  emperor's  equipage 
approaching  us.  He  has  a  very  pleasant, 
frank  looking  face,  and  looks  more  like  the 
pictures  of  Frederick  the  Great  than  either 
his  father's  or  grandfather's.  After  seeing 
where  two  of  the  greatest  of  Germany's  rulers 
lived,  we  went  to  the  garrison  church  to  see 
the  casket  which  contained  the  dust  of  Fred- 
erick the  Great,  on  which  were  wreaths  placed 
there  one  hundred  years  after  his  burial. 
Napoleon  entered  this  tomb  in  1806  and  said, 
''Here  lies  a  great  man."  He  little  thought 
then  that  the  flags  of  his  own  country  would 
165 


^ome  iSecoflection^  of 


be  captured  and  hung  on  the  walls  of  this 
church  by  one  whom,  as  a  boy  of  nine  years, 
he  probably  saw  about  the  same  time  he  saw 
the  tomb  of  Frederick  the  Great. 

The  companionship  of  Voltaire,  added  to  the 
fact  of  his  library  being  filled  with  his  books, 
would  indicate  that  Frederick  the  Great  shared 
his  religious  views.  But  in  this  church  was  an 
inclined  plane  made  to  wheel  him  to  the  serv- 
ices when  he  was  too  infirm  to  walk. 

It  is  told  of  him  that  he  once  asked  his  court 
chaplain  to  give  him  one  word  to  prove  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Bible;  the  answer  was,  "Jews." 

His  confession  of  faith  was,  "The  king  is 
the  first  servant  of  the  state,  and  every  sub- 
ject of  the  state  can  be  saved  in  his  own 
faith."  Perhaps  he  learned  somewhat  of  re- 
ligious liberty  in  spite  of  all  the  extremely 
so-called  liberal  views  of  Voltaire. 

We  next  visited  "Peace  Church,"  built  by 
the  brother  of  William  the  First,  a  very  pious 
king — who  is  buried  in  it  —  and  it  was  a  fit- 
ting tribute  to  the  late  Emperor  Frederick  that 
he  was  buried  here  also,  for  while  he  was  an 
able  soldier  he  was  a  man  of  peace. 

Here  we  saw  Thorwaldsen's  marble  statue  of 
Aaron  and  Hur  holding  up  Moses'  hands  — 
a  marvelous  work  —  and  the  Angel  of  Peace 
standing  in  front  of  the  pulpit.  There  are  no 
war  trophies  in  this  church,  and  its  surround- 
ings are  a  marvel  of  beauty  and  utility,  which 
last  is  not  usual  in  state  churches,  un- 
i66 


S'oljti  m  f  artdefl 


less  Utility  be  considered  to  be  using  them  as 
graveyards. 

We  next  visited  "Charlotten  Hof/'  a  small 
but  most  home-like  place.  Frederick  WilHam 
IV  lived  here,  and  this  is  where  Alexander 
von  Humboldt  wrote  the  third  and  fourth  sec- 
tions of  his  "Cosmos."  Among  its  curiosities 
is  the  walking-stick  of  Frederick  the  Great  with 
a  lion  for  the  handle,  which  he  always  carried, 
whether  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  and  so  it  is 
represented  in  his  bronze  equestrian  statue  in 
front  of  William  Ps  castle  in  Berlin.  Another 
is  a  steel  and  silver  chair  made  by  Peter  the 
Great,  which  was  given  to  the  Queen  of  Prus- 
sia by  Alexander  the  First  of  Russia. 

Humboldt's  bedroom,  in  this  castle,  was 
built  to  represent  a  tent,  in  which  he  lived  so 
long,  and  all  his  toilet  articles  are  there  just 
as  when  he  died. 

In  the  Roman  baths,  near  the  palace,  is  a  jas- 
per bath-tub,  presented  to  Frederick  William  IV 
by  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  worth  $500,000.  It 
was  brought  from  the  ruins  of  Pompeii. 

We  next  visited  the  Royal  Guest  Palace, 
built  by  Frederick  William  IV,  in  which  to  en- 
tertain royal  guests.  The  noted  pictures  in 
this  palace  are  of  sacred  subjects. 

The  last  castle  we  visited  was  **Sans  Souci," 
built  by  Frederick  the  Great.  In  it,  in  a 
glass  case,  is  the  rough  plan  of  this  castle  and 
grounds  drawn  by  him,  a  piece  of  poetry,  and 
his  last  will,  in  his  own  handwriting.  The 
167 


^ome  iSecoItectioti^  of 


castle  and   grounds  were  poetry,  indeed — in 
stone  and  landscape. 

There  was  a  windmill  on  the  site  of  this 
castle  which  Frederick  wanted,  but  the  sturdy 
miller  went  to  the  courts  to  prevent  confisca- 
tion and  gained  his  case,  and  that  mill  is  still 
there  to  testify  to  the  will  of  a  German  miller 
as  equal  to  that  of  Frederick  the  Great,  who 
died  in  sight  of  this  mill.  Voltaire  had  rooms 
in  one  end  of  this  palace. 

There  is  a  table  in  this  palace,  one  thousand 
six  hundred  years  old,  upon  which  stands  a 
clock  that  stopped  at  twenty  minutes  past  two 
the  day  and  hour  that  Frederick  the  Great 
died,  sitting  in  a  chair  in  the  window  looking 
out  on  the  lovely  grounds  in  front. 

The  death,  in  the  past  year — 1888  —  of  two 
emperors,  has  brought  Germany  before  the 
world's  attention  quite  as  much  as  the  Fran- 
co-Prussian war  did,  and  the  quiet  judgment 
of  thoughtful  men  everywhere  gives  her  the 
first  place  in  continental  politics.  A  visit  to 
these  palaces  and  this  great  city,  which  looks 
more  like  an  American  city  than  any  I  have 
seen  in  Europe,  has  raised  this  people  and 
this  country  in  my  estimation  immensely. 

Great  things  may  be  expected  from  this 
union  of  twenty-five  independent  states  and  one 
territory  (Alsace-Lorraine)  if  the  wisdom  that 
made  shall  continue  to  build  the  empire  upon 
such  broad  foundations  with  the  largest  liberty 
for  the  people  of  all  these  states. 
168 


goljn  W.  f  artocH 


When  the  Revolution  of  1848  culminated, 
William  I  was  in  command  of  the  king's 
guard,  and  remonstrated  with  the  king  for 
sending  the  army  out  of  the  city  and  for  not  fir- 
ing on  the  mob  which  had  surrounded  the  castle 
and  was  attempting  to  force  the  iron  gate. 

The  king  was  inexorable;  he  was  too  con- 
siderate for  dealing  with  anarchists,  and  refused 
permission  to  fire  on  the  mob.  The  prince 
and  coming  emperor  broke  his  saber  over  his 
knees,  and  threw  it  at  the  feet  of  a  king  he 
could  not  serve. 

It  is  quite  noticeable  on  the  continent  that 
Americans  are  held  in  the  highest  esteem  as 
travelers,  and  perhaps  the  highest  compliment 
ever  paid  to  our  economic  system  of  raising 
funds  for  the  government  is  the  fact  that  the 
great  Empire  of  Germany  has  adopted  our 
system  of  protection  to  home  industries.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  Bismarck,  in  urging 
this  system,  referred  to  the  unparalleled  prog- 
ress of  America  after  her  war,  under  that 
system,  as  a  conclusive  argument  in  estab- 
lished facts  which  they  would  do  well  to  heed. 
And  they  did.  Long  live  Bismarck  !  I  expect 
before  our  present  election  campaign  is  over 
that  our  German  citizens  will  remember  this, 
and  that  their  best  papers  in  America  will 
come  over  to  the  Republican  side  of  this  ques- 
tion. Germans  are  reading  and  reasoning 
people,  and  know  how  to  take  care  of  their 
own  pockets. 

169 


\\ 


Clinton   Locke,  and 

men  to  go  toJ45n^J#?.'^i  V  hhol 

^vas  a  memaf^L/IP  ?P"^??^  °^  tuoqa  ta 

trials  wbjil<f«ljA»w<ar;^iH[]<»«iA4iHi>: 9HT  n©  ye3thuoo 

Salt  Lake  City,  where  a  visif  •-' 

ham  Young,  who  gave  us  a 

pal  hotel.    The  propretor 

hotel,  refused  to  act,  because 

taken  another  wife  by  order  of  L.  ,.   ... 

and  she  said  to  him,  **  Let  your  new  wife 

tothi-  '-    '■■■   ■■'      ; •■'  '■■■ ■  ■  -  -    •• 

wa-   - 
Yoi 


literature    :■; 
when  Utah's 


Mi^ 


■5 


John  V.  Farwell 

AT    ABOUT    40  YEARS    OF    AGE 

SY   OF  THE    CHICAGO   HISTORICAL   SOCIETV 


i^ome  Craiel 


A   TRIP    TO    CALIFORNIA 

WHEN  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  was 
opened  the  officers  invited  Governor 
Oglesby,  Senator  Trumbull,  Rev. 
Clinton  Locke,  and  several  Chicago  business 
men  to  go  to  California  as  their  guests.  It 
was  a  memorable  trip.  On  the  way  out  mock 
trials  whiled  away  the  time,  until  we  reached 
Salt  Lake  City,  where  a  visit  was  made  to  Brig- 
ham  Young,  who  gave  us  a  dinner  at  the  princi- 
pal hotel.  The  proprietor's  wife,  who  ran  the 
hotel,  refused  to  act,  because  her  spouse  had 
taken  another  wife  by  order  of  Brigham  Young, 
and  she  said  to  him,  ''Let  your  new  wife  attend 
to  this  business  now,  and  give  me  a  rest."  She 
was  so  persistent  in  her  demand  that  Brigham 
Young  was  compelled  to  see  her  and  arrange 
for  her  to  get  one  more  dinner  for  his  guests, 
which  she  finally  did,  and  it  was  a  good  one. 
So  we  had  a  good  introduction  to  the  beau- 
ties of  polygamy. 

The  next  day  we  all  called  on  the  high  priest 
of  the  cult,  who  had  seventy  wives.  Much  to 
my  surprise  Senator  Trumbull  gave  him  a  lec- 
ture on  the  subject,  which  would  be  good 
literature  for  the  present  senators  to  study 
when  Utah's  new  senator  applies  for  his  seat  in 
171 


^ome  iSecollection^  of 


the  Senate.  I  expected  a  scene  to  follow,  but 
the  high  priest  of  the  cult  of  "the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil"  took  it  as  a  joke,  and  sub- 
sequent events,  in  taking  Utah  into  the  Union 
of  States  with  this  standard  of  morals,  have 
endorsed  his  manner  of  treating  the  subject. 

There  was  one  notable  person  on  the 
streets  of  Salt  Lake  City  who  was  pointed 
out  as  the  leader  of  the  conspiracy  to  murder 
and  plunder  a  colony  of  emigrants  on  the  way 
to  California  a  few  years  before  this.  For  this 
plot  Brigham  Young  was  responsible,  yet  no 
retribution  was  ever  meted  out  to  the  Mor- 
mons for  the  bloody  outrage. 

Brigham  Young  had  just  taken  a  young  new 
wife  and  her  palace  was  shown  to  us  as  one  of 
the  notable  edifices  of  that  Sodom  of  the  United 
States. 

We  attended  the  state  theater  in  a  body  to 
see  another  feature  of  such  a  community,  and 
it  was  a  very  appropriate  accompaniment  of 
such  a  church  which  met  in  the  tabernacle,  in 
which  was  the  largest  organ  in  the  world.  We 
heard  Brigham  Young  preach,  and  the  seventy 
elders  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit  with  open 
mouths  looked  at  him  as  though  he  were  God's 
vicegerent  on  earth.  We  were  glad  to  get 
away  from  this  miserable  blot  on  the  escutcheon 
of  our  country's  honor.  We  were  surprised  to 
find  an  electric  lighting  plant  at  Ogden,  the 
first  I  had  ever  seen,  and  out  in  a  wilderness 
desert. 

172 


^of^n  B.  f  artoell 


Arriving  at  San  Francisco,  we  were  met  by 
a  committee  of  the  city  to  welcome  us  to  a 
banquet  at  the  largest  hotel.  One  of  the 
speakers  was  a  fine  looking  Chinaman,  an  em- 
ploye of  the  Bank  of  California,  who  made  a 
fine  address.  I  saw  him  on  Sunday  in  a 
Chinaman's  Sunday  school,  where  he  was  very 
busy  and  efficient.  So  he  had  found  some- 
thing better  than  a  clerkship  in  the  biggest 
bank  in  California. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Ralston,  of  the  Bank  of 
California,  took  one  hundred  guests  to  his 
country  place.  From  the  end  of  the  railroad 
coaches  and  relays  of  horses  took  us  some  ten 
miles  on  a  keen  run.  Such  a  trip  I  never  ex- 
pect to  take  again.  Arriving  at  his  palatial 
home,  he  played  the  piano  while  the  one  hun- 
dred sat  down  to  a  dinner  such  as  is  seldom 
seen  at  our  best  hotels,  and  it  was  served  more 
expeditiously  than  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  in 
New  York  ever  served  such  a  company.  Then 
came  a  view  of  his  deer  park,  and  the  return 
trip  closed  the  day. 

Most  of  our  party  determined  to  see  the 
Yosemite  Valley  on  our  way  home.  We  took 
stages  at  Stockton  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
where  Fremont  first  reached  a  house  in  Cali- 
fornia on  his  first  exploration  trip.  The  in- 
tense heat  and  the  interminable  dust  made 
every  one  of  the  party  unrecognizable  from 
facial  peculiarities.  The  sweat  and  dust  had 
formed  a  union  trust  that  was  perfect  in  hiding 

173 


^ome  iHecoHection^  of 


identities,  until  the  voice  revealed  each  to  the 
other.  We  thought  we  were  paying  very 
dearly  for  our  expected  show  in  nature's  own 
exposition. 

The  next  day  we  were  all  mounted  moun- 
taineers for  a  two  days'  campaign  against  ob- 
stacles between  us  and  the  greatest  natural 
wonder  in  the  world,  and  on  the  way,  as  an 
introduction,  we  were  to  see  the  ''big  trees." 
We  passed  through  large  pine  forests  of  trees 
from  two  to  eight  feet  in  diameter,  and  from 
one  hundred  to  two  hundred  feet  high,  and 
standing  so  thick  that  the  sun  never  reached 
the  ground.  I  brought  home  one  of  the  cones 
that  was  twenty  inches  in  length. 

These  were  but  a  faint  introduction  to  the 
big  trees,  however,  which  were  twenty  to  thirty- 
three  feet  in  diameter,  and  two  hundred  to 
three  hundred  feet  high,  and  the  first  limbs,  in 
some  cases,  two  hundred  feet  from  the  ground. 
The  fire  had  burned  out  the  center  at  the  bot- 
tom of  one  of  them  and  between  the  support- 
ing roots,  so  we  could  ride  in  at  one  door  thus 
made  and  out  at  another,  on  horseback.  One 
had  been  cut  down  and  the  stump  smoothed 
off  a  foot  above  the  ground  for  the  floor  of  a 
dance  hall.  No  king  or  emperor  ever  had 
such  a  floor  in  his  music  hall,  but  the  cones  on 
these  mammoth  trees  were  only  about  the  size 
of  an  Illinois  hickory  nut. 

I  began  to  think  that  we  could  have  stood 
one  hundred  per  cent  more  of  dust,  and  yet 
174 


9^oif)n  15.  f  artoell 


we  had  not  yet  seen  what  we  came  to  behold. 
Governor  Oglesby,  who  was  a  large  man,  had 
a  very  small  pony,  and  was  several  times  urged 
by  Senator  Trumbull  to  change  work  with 
the  pony  at  least  one-half  of  the  time.  How- 
ever, the  two  days'  jolting  had  brought  many 
bitter  complaints  from  a  rebel  bullet  that 
he  had  carried  in  his  body  from  the  time  of  its 
reception  in  battle,  and  so  he  was  excused  by 
us  and  the  pony  from  accepting  the  proposal 
of  Senator  Trumbull. 

We  were  now  approaching  Yosemite  Valley, 
and  found  many  snow  banks,  from  which,  as 
from  a  flower  garden,  the  scarlet  snow  flowers 
sprang  up  as  if  by  magic,  to  intensify  the 
brilliancy  of  the  beautiful  white  snow,  with 
no  city  smoke  and  dirt  to  disfigure  it.  All  at 
once  we  came  to  the  edge  of  the  valley  at 
"Inspiration  Point,"  which  juts  out  into  it  far 
enough  to  give  a  full  view  of  the  upper  and 
lower  parts  of  the  valley.  There  was  a  violent 
rain  storm  in  the  lower  end,  a  few  drops 
where  we  stood,  and  clear  sunlight  in  the 
upper  end,  making  a  panorama  so  grand  that 
Governor  Oglesby  unconsciously  exclaimed, 
''Great  God!  could  any  one  imagine  such  a 
place  as  this  on  earth,"  and  we  all  said 
"Amen"  to  that. 

In  front  of  us  was  "El  Capitan"  in  3,800 

feet  of  perpendicular  granite.     To  the  right 

was  the  "Cap   of   Liberty,"  somewhat  more 

lofty,  and   between   them,  opposite   us,  was 

175 


^ome  iSecoIlection^  of 


"Yosemite  Falls,"  three  times  as  high  as 
Niagara,  and  nearly  one  hundred  feet  broad, 
but  looking  no  more  than  ten  feet  wide  from 
where  we  stood.  On  the  same  side  as  "In- 
spiration Point,"  to  our  right,  was  "Bridal 
Veil  Falls,"  between  two  granite  "Cathedral 
Spires,"  white  as  the  snow,  as  if  old  earth  at 
this  particular  spot  was  the  bride  of  the  heav- 
ens itself,  ready  for  an  eternal  union,  adorned 
with  scarlet  snow  flowers  for  a  bridal  wreath. 
We  tarried  at  this  enchanting  spot  as  long  as 
we  dare  risk  it,  if  we  were  to  get  down  into 
the  valley  by  daylight.  The  descent  took 
nearly  two  hours,  winding  back  and  forth  on  a 
narrow  path  dug  out  of  the  steep  side  of  the 
mountain,  which  none  but  trained  horses  would 
ever  attempt.  We  found  a  comfortable  hotel 
in  the  valley,  and  all  of  us  were  ready  for  a  rest, 
particularly  our  Governor,  whose  rebel  bullet 
and  the  horseback  shaking  up  had  made  of 
him  quite  an  invalid.  After  a  good  night's  rest 
we  managed  the  next  day  to  get  a  nearer  view, 
by  the  favor  of  the  horses  and  a  practical  guide, 
of  the  wonder  we  had  seen  from  "Inspiration 
Point"  and  a  multitude  more  of  them,  not 
visible  from  that  point,  but  nearly  as  inspiring. 
The  first  was  "Mirror  Lake,"  at  the  foot  of 
the  "Cap  of  Liberty,"  which  with  the  trees  on 
its  margin,  with  ourselves,  watches  in  hand, 
were  just  as  distinctly  seen  in  the  water  as 
above  it,  with  the  exact  time  of  the  day  from 
our  watches.  It  reminded  me  of  Paul's  figure 
176 


gof^n  "B.  jpattoeil 


of  Christ,  as  a  mirror,  which  by  our  constant 
looking  into  **we  are  transformed  into  the  same 
image  from  glory  to  glory. "  After  nine  o'clock 
a  gentle  breeze  spoiled  the  mirror,  and  we  were 
ready  for  the  next  revelation  of  nature's  gifts  to 
man,  in  another  of  God's  books  which  we  can 
read  and  say,  "Only  God  could  do  this." 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  the  Rev. 
Clinton  Locke  took  charge  of  an  outdoor 
evening  service.  He  had  tried  hard  on  the 
railroad  to  convince  me  that  the  Episcopal 
Church  was  the  only  one  with  an  air-line  track 
to  the  better  land,  with  little  success,  and  so  I 
was  greatly  surprised  that,  with  no  previous 
notice,  he  should  ask  me  to  lead  in  prayer  in 
opening  the  service.  I  can  only  remember  the 
opening  sentences  of  that  prayer,  somewhat  as 
follows:  "Great  God,  our  Father,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth,  in  this  Thine  own  temple, 
frescoed  with  millions  of  stars,  whose  organ 
choir  is  the  voice  of  many  waters,  whose  walls 
and  cathedral  spires  are  mountains  of  granite, 
and  whose  carpet  is  woven  with  the  lilies  of 
the  valley,  and  flowers  whose  names  are  only 
known  to  Thee,  help  us,  Thy  children,  to  wor- 
ship Thee  here,  in  the  beauty  of  holiness,  as 
we  behold  the  works  of  Thy  hands  all  about  us, 
as  Creator  of  all  things." 

The  surprise  of  this  invitation  from  an  Epis- 
copalian clergyman  to  lead  in  prayer  in  one  of 
his  own  services  was  only  exceeded  by  the 
many  remarks  on  my  acceptance  of  it,  from 
177 


J^ome  iHecoIIection^  of 


very  many  of  those  who  attended,  which  were 
most  embarrassing  to  me,  as  most  unfitting  to 
such  an  occasion. 

Many  years  afterwards  Senator  Trumbull 
again  referred  to  it  as  one  of  the  memorable 
incidents  of  Yosemite  Valley  experiences,  yet 
all  this  time  I  felt  that  my  Father  indited  a 
petition  to  Himself,  and  to  hear  such  remarks 
was  but  to  remind  me  of  a  newspaper's  notice 
of  a  prayer  made  in  New  York  by  a  promi- 
nent clergyman,  as  "  the  most  eloquent  prayer 
ever  addressed  to  an  American  audience." 

The  next  day  we  left  this  most  remarkable 
chapter  in  God's  book  of  Nature  for  the  com- 
mon scenes  of  our  return  journey  to  Chicago. 
The  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road by  the  aid  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment was  thought  by  some  to  have  saved 
California  to  the  Union  at  the  time  of  the  war. 
There  had  been  many  Southerners  in  Califor- 
nia who  took  up  their  residence  there  before 
the  war,  some  of  whom  had  tried  to  make 
slaves  of  Indians,  and  had  advocated  that 
California  join  the  Southern  States  in  seces- 
sion, but  the  building  of  the  railroad  by  the 
United  States  government  practically  with 
its  own  hands  turned  the  scales  forever  to 
the  Union. 

THE    INDIAN    COMMISSION 

When  General  Grant  was  elected  President, 
Congress  refused  to  make  appropriations  for 
178 


3^0f)n  t5.  f  attDell 


the  Indians,  because  of  the  malfeasance  in 
office  of  the  Indian  agents,  who  distributed 
government  suppHes  to  them  in  such  a  way  as 
to  absorb  most  of  them  on  the  way,  and  at 
their  point  of  destination,  unless  a  commis- 
sioner was  appointed  to  superintend  purchases 
and  their  distribution.  General  Grant  was 
authorized  to  select  such  a  commission  and 
the  following  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  indicates  the  scope  of  their  duties, 
and  the  names  of  the  men  who  were  to  take 
up  the  work  that  saved  many  wars  then  threat- 
ened by  the  Indians  on  account  of  their  treat- 
ment by  government  agents: 

Department  of  the  Interior. 
Washington,  D.  C.,  April  15,  1869. 

Dear  Sir:  The  President  has  directed  me 
to  invite  you  to  become  one  of  the  Commis- 
sioners provided  for  by  the  late  act  of  Congress 
to  act  as  auxiliary  to  this  Department  in  the 
supervision  of  the  work  of  gathering  the 
Indians  upon  reservations. 

The  Commission  will  serve  without  pay, 
except  for  expenses  actually  incurred  in  travel- 
ing, and  is  expected  to  act  both  as  a  consult- 
ing board  of  advisers,  and,  through  their 
sub-committees,  as  inspectors  of  the  agencies 
in  the  Indian  country. 

The    design  of   those    who    suggested    the 
Commission  was  that  something  like  a  Chris- 
tian Commission  should  be  established,  having 
179 


^ome  iUecoIlection^  of 


the  civilization  of  the  Indian  in  view,  and 
laboring  to  stimulate  pubhc  interest  in  this 
work,  whilst  also  co-operating  with  the  De- 
partment in  the  specific  purpose  mentioned. 

The  following  gentlemen  have  been  re- 
quested to  become  members  of  the  Board 
with  you:  William  Welsh,  Philadelphia;  Geo. 
H.  Stuart,  James  E.  Tratman,  St.  Louis; 
Wm.  E.  Dodge,  New  York;  E.  S.  Toby, 
Boston;  and  Felix  R.  Brunot,  of  Pittsburg. 
Perhaps  two  others  will  be  added,  and  as 
soon  as  answers  are  received,  a  preliminary 
meeting  will  be  called  here.  Earnestly  hop- 
ing you  will  consent  to  your  own  appointment, 
and  that  you  will  in  any  event  withhold  any 
refusal  until  the  preliminary  meeting  has  been 
held,  and  you  have  thus  been  enabled  to  dis- 
cuss more  fully  the  objects  and  the  importance 
of  the  contemplated  movement, 

I  am  very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  D.  Cox. 
Hon.  John  V.  Farwell,  Chicago. 

It  was  very  soon  demonstrated  that  this  was 
done  none  too  soon.  I  was  one  of  two  com- 
missioners sent  in  1 871  to  the  Osage  tribe  in 
southern  Kansas,  whose  lands  were  being  taken 
up  by  Kansas  settlers,  to  remove  them  to  the 
Indian  Territory.  We  had  scarcely  named  our 
object,  before  the  chief  said  to  us:  * 'White 
people  are  going  there,  same  as  here ;  if  you 
180 


foljn  15.  f artoril 


can  stop  that,  we  will  hold  a  council  to  con- 
sider the  matter,  and  not  otherwise." 

We  telegraphed  for  a  company  of  cavalry 
and  had  every  wagon  turned  back,  inside  of 
two  weeks,  and  then  a  council  was  held.  The 
chief  had  been  educated  by  Catholic  priests, 
and  could  speak  English  as  well  as  we,  but  he 
had  an  interpreter  and  spoke  in  pure  Indian, 
somewhat  as  follows: 

**I  hold  in  my  hand  a  treaty  signed  by 
Thomas  Jefferson,  which  gives  us  the  terri- 
tory between  the  Red  River  of  the  South  and 
the  Missouri  River.  The  Government  of  the 
United  States  has  from  time  to  time  absorbed 
it  all,  nearly,  by  treaties  at  different  times,  and 
the  payment  of  trifling  sums,  until  we  now 
own  only  a  little  strip  of  thirty  miles  wide 
and  three  miles  long,  adjoining  the  Indian 
Territory,  and  now  we  are  asked  to  relinquish 
that." 

We  had  no  argument  to  meet  this  but  the 
offer  of  a  tract  twice  as  large  in  the  Indian 
Territory,  which  was  finally  accepted,  and  all 
the  Indians  signed  the  treaty  with  a  cross,  and 
an  Indian  war  was  prevented.  The  result  was 
celebrated  with  a  regular  Indian  dance,  horse 
races,  and  young  Indians  in  a  foot  race.  John 
V.  Farwell,  Jr.,  had  come  on  with  me  and  while 
a  spectator  of  the  boys'  race,  was  invited  to 
take  a  part  in  a  mile  run.  He  agreed  to  run 
if  they  would  make  it  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
which  was  accepted,  and  he  came  out  ahead 
i8i 


^ome  iSecDlIection^  of 


of  them  all.  He  was  so  elated  with  his  vic- 
tory that  he  came  at  once  to  the  Indian  agent's 
office  and  wrote  the  following  letter: 

**  Dear  Mother — I  ran  a  race  with  Indian 
boys,  and  beat  them  bigger  than  myself." 

The  beat  had  to  have  precedence  over  big- 
ger. Before  the  day  was  over  I  had  expected 
some  accidents  in  the  racing  and  other  sports, 
for  the  Indians  in  some  way  had  got  some 
whiskey,  and  were  very  boisterous.  While 
here  a  telegram  came  to  me,  informing  me 
that  the  company's  store  at  ^2,  74  and  76 
Wabash  Avenue  had  been  burned  up,  not  a 
very  comforting  piece  of  news,  but  success  in 
our  mission  cured  even  this  stroke  of  paraly- 
sis in  business  affairs. 

My  next  trip  was  to  Cahfornia  to  purchase 
supphes  and  investigate  some  large  claims 
held  by  Californians  versus  the  United  States, 
growing  out  of  Indian  purchases. 

This  trip  was  made  under  the  specific 
agreement  that  I  was  to  use  my  own  judgment 
as  to  the  manner  of  buying  the  goods,  instead 
of  the  United  States  regulations,  which  were 
so  arranged  as  to  give  to  favored  parties  the 
whole  amount  of  purchases,  through  adver- 
tisements arranged  by  the  Indian  office  in 
Washington,  appearing  very  fair  to  one  not 
posted  in  the  game.  I  bought  them,  just  as 
I  bought  goods  for  my  own  business,  and  left 
samples  with  an  agent  of  my  own  to  be  used 
in  their  delivery,  so  as  to  get  the  same  qual- 
182 


3^ol)n  15.  f  attoell 


ity  that  was  bargained  for,  and  the  proper 
quantities. 

Advertisements  were  put  in  the  papers  for 
samples  of  the  goods  wanted,  to  be  left  at  the 
Indian  Office,  and  for  all  parties  having  claims 
against  the  United  States  to  present  them  at 
the  Indian  Office  within  a  certain  time,  with  the 
proofs  to  establish  their  equity,  and  not  a  man 
appeared. 

I  was  also  required  to  visit  the  agencies  in 
Northern  Cahfornia,  and  had  a  military  escort 
for  that  purpose.  The  trip  was  made  on 
horseback,  after  getting  to  the  end  of  the  stage 
route.  We  camped  one  night  on  a  trout 
stream  at  the  base  of  a  mountain  we  had  to 
cross  the  next  day.  We  got  trout  for  supper 
and  breakfast,  and  when  ready  to  move,  there 
was  a  dense  fog,  which  grew  thinner  and  thin- 
ner, until  we  reached  a  point  near  the  summit, 
where  a  view  presented  itself  such  as  I  never 
saw  before,  and  never  expect  to  see  again. 
The  fog  at  our  feet  seemed  like  the  waves  of 
the  sea  in  a  violent  storm,  mountain  peaks  all 
around  us  looked  like  islands,  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean  was  in  plain  view  in  the  west,  as  we 
were  quite  near  it.  I  was  never  above  the 
clouds  before,  nor  since,  in  a  material  world, 
and  it  was  a  most  enchanting  scene.  It  re- 
minded me  that  the  fog  of  this  world  in  a  men- 
tal or  spiritual  atmosphere  is  only  overcome  by 
surmounting  it,  and  getting  above  its  influence 
into  the  clear  sunlight  of  God's  eternal  sun- 
183 


^ome  MtttAltttitsm  of 


shine,  where  we  can  see  ourselves  as  others  see 
us,  and  act  accordingly.  Climbing  is  the  for- 
mula for  such  results,  instead  of  choosing  a 
moral  down-grade,  which  has  so  many  starting- 
points  in  ruining  character. 

Arriving  at  our  destination,  the  Indians 
were  not  the  only  ones  that  enlisted  my  sym- 
pathy. The  soldiers  sent  from  comfortable 
homes  into  this  moral  as  well  as  material  wil- 
derness, with  nothing  to  do  but  watch  Indians, 
found  the  down-grade  highway  to  a  moral  hell 
among  the  very  elements  they  were  expected 
to  aid  into  a  better  life.  Strange  as  it  may 
seem,  we  found  among  the  Indians  the  belief 
in  a  future  life  in  their  cemeteries,  where  the 
occupants'  graves  were  ornamented  with  all 
the  utensils  used  here,  for  use  in  the  Great  Be- 
yond. Their  medicine-man  is  their  priest.  I 
was  introduced  to  one,  and  I  w^as  curious  to 
ascertain  the  origin  of  a  certain  dance,  at  which 
a  regalia  was  worn  made  of  white  deerskins 
and  red-headed  woodpeckers'  scalps  made  into 
a  gear,  the  ones  that  wore  the  largest  taking 
the  precedence.  On  informing  him  that  in  my 
town  there  were  scores  of  that  bird  in  the  trees, 
he  at  once  wished  me  to  send  him  any  number 
at  a  dollar  apiece,  so  he  could  outshine  the 
chief  in  the  next  dance.  On  inquiring  how 
this  dance  originated,  he  informed  me  that 
about  two  thousand  years  ago  his  ancestor  had 
seen  a  vision  coming  down  the  mountain  of  a 
spirit  in  human  form  that  told  him  they  must 
184 


S^oljn  "B.  f  artDell 


not  fight  any  more,  and  that  whenever  all 
quarrels  were  settled  they  could  have  this 
dance,  and  wear  this  regalia,  of  which  he 
showed  me  his  sample.  I  then  asked  him 
how  long  it  was  since  they  had  had  such  a 
dance.  He  said  many,  many  years.  I  then 
asked  him  how  soon  after  it  occurred  was  any 
one  killed  in  a  quarrel.  He  gave  me  a  queer 
look,  but  finally  answered,  ''the  very  next 
month  after  the  dance."  It  was  a  very  interest- 
ing bit  of  Indian  history  to  me,  as  evidencing 
the  Bible  statement  that  ''God  made  of  one 
blood"  all  the  nations  of  this  earth.  Having 
finished  my  mission,  my  return  trip  was  made 
by  a  small  steamer  to  San  Francisco.  Very 
many  whales  were  seen  on  the  trip,  but  it  was 
reserved  for  San  Francisco  harbor  to  close  the 
whale  exhibition,  with  a  dead  and  stranded  one 
that  was  seventy  feet  long  and  fifteen  feet 
across  near  the  head,  large  enough  to  hold 
several  Jonahs  all  at  once. 

RECONNOITERING 

Our  Commission  sent  detectives  to  the  north- 
ern agencies  to  ascertain  how  vouchers  were 
made  up  by  the  Indian  agents.  In  one  case 
flour  had  been  mixed  with  a  white  clay,  ren- 
dering it  unusable,  and  was  rejected  by  the 
Indians.  It  was  offered  every  delivery  day, 
and  vouchers  made  up,  as  though  it  had  been 
taken  and  used  by  the  Indians.  Cattle  were 
driven  over  the  scales  several  times  so  that  a 
185 


^ome  ilecallecticm^  of 


small  drove  became  a  thousand.  A  war  was 
imminent,  because  of  these  cheats,  and  I  wrote 
my  brother,  then  a  member  of  Congress,  giv- 
ing these  facts,  and  stating  that  the  Indian 
Office  and  Secretary  of  the  Interior  were  cer- 
tainly to  blame  for  such  action.  These  vouch- 
ers were  paid  after  they  had  been  rejected  by 
our  Commission,  which  resulted  in  the  resig- 
nation of  all  but  one  of  the  members,  but 
before  this  resignation  our  Chairman,  Felix  R. 
Brunot,  went  to  the  Sioux  agency  and  held  a 
council  with  Red  Cloud  and  his  tribes,  which 
prevented  a  war.  He  opened  the  session  with 
prayer,  at  the  close  of  which  Red  Cloud  rose, 
spread  his  hands  towards  heaven,  and  asked 
the  Great  Spirit  "to  see  that  nothing  but  truth 
was  spoken  at  that  council."  My  letter  was 
handed  to  President  Grant,  who  sent  it  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior.  There  was  a  meet- 
ing soon  after  of  our  Commission  in  Washing- 
ton, and  I  had  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  ask- 
ing me  to  call  at  his  office,  to  which  I  replied 
that  after  reporting  to  our  chairman  I  would 
call  on  him.  Instead  of  waiting  for  my  call, 
he  attended  that  first  meeting,  and  stated  that 
a  letter  had  been  sent  to  Washington  by  Mr. 
Farwell,  reflecting  on  the  Interior  Office,  and 
asked  a  committee  of  conference.  W.  E. 
Dodge,  and  another  gentleman  and  myself 
were  appointed  as  a  committee.  I  was  in  for 
it  as  the  Secretary  thought,  but  I  justified  the 
letter  on  the  ground  that  the  Secretary  was 
1 86 


goljtt  m  f  artoell 


accountable  for  the  acts  of  his  under-ofiicers, 
and  for  the  truth  of  my  statements,  I  was  pre- 
pared to  prove  every  one  of  them  by  eye-wit- 
nesses of  the  wrongs  done  to  the  Indians  by  his 
appointees. 

The  President  soon  had  the  resignation  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  there  have 
been  no  Indian  wars  with  the  Northern  tribes 
since  then. 

At  one  of  our  meetings  in  Washington  I 
was  asked  to  address  a  pubhc  meeting,  pre- 
sided over  by  President  Grant,  on  the  work  of 
our  Commission.  This  is  the  highest  civic 
honor  ever  accorded  to  me.  As  its  work  was 
in  the  interest  of  peace  through  fair  deahng, 
before  speaking  on  my  theme  I  referred  to 
General  Grant's  agency  in  procuring  an  arbi- 
tration to  settle  our  war  damages  as  the  re- 
sult of  Great  Britain's  allowing  a  rebel  cruiser 
bought  in  England  to  leave  her  ports  to  drive 
our  commerce  from  the  ocean,  which  was  suit- 
ably applauded  by  the  audience.  The  greatest 
soldier  in  the  field  should  be  the  greatest 
peacemaker  as  a  diplomat  in  his  office,  as 
well  as  with  guns,  and  such  was  General 
Grant  as  commander-in-chief  of  our  armies,  as 
well  as  in  his  office  as  chief  magistrate  of  a 
great  nation. 


187 


€)cca!Stonal  ttttm 


THE   WAY   TO   MAKE    MONEY 

THE  "Boston  Herald,"  which  has  been 
asking  milHonaires  for  their  views  on 
getting  rich,  had  received  the  following 
recipe  from  Mr.  J.  V.  Farwell  of  this  city: 
"Chicago,  September  20,  1887. 
''Dear  Sir:  I  have  been  unable  to  answer 
your  query  sooner,  but  as  I  am  quite  sure  all 
your  young  men  readers  have  not  yet  become 
rich  from  reading  other  answers  than  mine,  and 
that  many  of  them  are  still  in  search  of  the 
philosopher's  stone  to  turn  everything  into 
gold,  I  venture  to  reply,  in  hope  of  helping 
some  of  them.  I  have  an  intense  admiration  for 
young  men  determined  to  become  an  honorable 
part  of  the  framework  of  a  prosperous  state. 
Forty-two  years  ago,  as  a  mere  boy,  I  saw  the 
genial  skies  and  the  unusually  rich  soil  of  Illi- 
nois, a  few  white  people,  and  a  multitude  of 
prairie-wolves  and  prairie-chickens.  What 
did  it  need  to  make  the  farms.?  Was  it  the 
cities  and  the  railroads  which  make  it  now 
the  grand  materialized  wealthy  State  that  it 
is,  or  simply  an  appreciation  of  unutilized 
natural  wealth,  and  then  the  working  of  it 
out,  adding  human  intelligence  and  work  to 
God's  gifts,  making  them  ours. 
189 


^ome  iSccollection^  of 


'*  Young  men  endowed  with  brains  —  God's 
gifts  so  unequally  bestowed  —  are  like  excep- 
tionally rich  lands,  under  a  genial  or  ungenial 
climate,  as  they  make  it.  With  such  men,  the 
first  thing  requisite  is  a  purpose  worthy  of 
such  a  gift  from  God.  A  good  brain,  intel- 
ligence, honest  purpose,  and  persistent  work 
are  the  rock  foundations  of  all  honestly  ac- 
quired wealth,  either  in  knowledge  or  in  the 
worldly  possessions,  but  God  has  left  the  com- 
pensation for  the  poor  'of  this  world,'  which 
outweighs  all  of  that;  that  is  to  be  *rich  in 
faith '  towards  Him.  Most  young  men  think 
that  kind  of  riches  foolishness. 

''Only  one  thing  remains  to  add — and  that 
is  the  genius,  the  soul  of  all  earthly  acquisi- 
tion, even  the  power  to  see  and  seize  oppor- 
tunities. The  war  did  not  make  General 
Grant  a  great  general.  It  was  in  him  before. 
It  only  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  show  it. 
'Unconditional  surrender.  Grant.'  was  a  real 
existence  before  Fort  Donelson  was  built. 

"America  alone,  saying  nothing  of  other 
lands,  is  too  large  for  any  young  man  of 
merit  to  say,  'I  have  no  opportunities.' 
These  are  not  all  in  the  large  cities,  as  most 
young  men  think  who  flock  there  to  find  a  for- 
tune in  a  day.  They  are  nearly  all  in  the  rich, 
unoccupied  country  still  only  partly  developed. 
Let  Boston  young  men  who  are  not  afraid  to 
work  and  wait,  just  follow  the  Atchison,  To- 
peka  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad  into  the  Southwest, 
190 


S^ofin  V.  f  artocll 


the  richest,  prospectively,  of  any  part  of  our 
country,  and  seize  the  opportunities  which 
come  without  the  asking  from  that  soil.  It 
is  richer  than  Illinois,  and  the  cHmate  is  more 
genial  than  any  I  know  of  in  conjunction  with 
such  soil.  They  will  be  to  that  country  what 
the  rich  men  of  Illinois  are  to-day  to  this 
State,  and  more  quickly,  since  railroads,  tele- 
graphs, and  all  other  lightning-like  concomi- 
tants are  now  more  potent  and  ubiquitous  than 
they  were  in  Illinois  forty  years  ago. 

''All  who  may  take  this  advice  and  get  rich 
will  please  give  at  least  as  much  to  benevo- 
lence as  Jacob  did  to  God  for  making  him 
rich,  by  sending  him  to  just  such  a  country 
before  there  were  any  railroads  to  multiply 
human  efforts  a  thousandfold,  and  we  will 
call  the  account  square  for  answering  your 
query  for  the  benefit  of  young  men." 

IF   I   WERE    MAYOR 

I   WOULD   RUN  THE   CITY   ON   BUSINESS 

PRINCIPLES 

I  would  try  to  run  the  city  as  I  run  my 
own  business — on  business  principles.  If  the 
city  departments  were  honestly  and  econom- 
ically administered  —  if  there  were  no  leak- 
ages, Chicago  would  have  money  enough,  I 
believe,  for  every  municipal  need. 

I  would  compel  the  officials  who  have  charge 
of  the  city  revenues  to  do  their  duty  honestly. 
I  would  not  permit   them  to  hide  behind  the 

191 


^ome  i5ccolktttanj0?  of 


law.  An  appointive  official  in  Chicago  is 
working  under  the  mayor  just  as  the  head  of  a 
department  in  my  store  is  working  for  me. 
He  is  responsible  to  me,  and  I  demand  honest 
service. 

A  public  official  who  steals  from  the  city  or 
county  ought  to  go  to  jail  for  a  term  ten  times 
as  long  as  for  the  thief  who  robs  a  private  citi- 
zen. I  would  stop  the  stuffing  of  pay-rolls. 
If  I  found  in  my  store  one  hundred  men  on  the 
salary  lists  who  did  not  work,  some  one  would 
be  discharged,  and  that  speedily. 

I  would  not  permit  politics  to  have  any 
influence  in  the  administration  of  the  city's 
business  so  far  as  I  could  prevent  it. 

The  newspaper  revelations  of  favoritism  in 
the  awarding  of  contracts  show  that  such  a 
state  of  affairs  exists  because  there  is  not  a 
will  to  prevent  it.  I  have  no  knowledge  of 
the  existence  of  this  phase  of  municipal  cor- 
ruption, I  must  say,  except  what  I  have  read 
in  the  newspapers. 

I  would  compel  the  traction  companies  to 
lower  the  river  tunnels  they  are  using.  If 
they  refused  to  get  them  out  of  the  way  of 
river  navigation,  I  would  clear  the  obstructions 
the  next  day.  The  street  railways  should  have 
been  forced  to  agree  to  pay  for  the  tunnels 
when  they  were  turned  over  to  them.  They 
have  never  been  of  any  use  to  the  public  since. 
The  companies  are  making  money  enough  to 
lower  the  old  bores  or  build  new  ones,  if  that  is 
192 


S^olm  1^.  f  artodl 


necessary.  The  city  should  not  be  taxed  to  do 
the  work. 

The  city  and  its  continued  prosperity  are  of 
more  importance  than  the  interests  of  any 
street  railway  company.  If  the  lake  carriers 
of  the  largest  size  are  kept  out  of  the  harbor, 
we  may  as  well  make  an  assignment  of  our 
position  as  the  great  lake  port  and  surrender 
the  business  prestige  it  gives  us.  Shipping 
will  forsake  Chicago  unless  the  river  is  made 
navigable  for  the  biggest  lake  freighter  afloat. 
In  a  measure  it  has  left  us  already  and  made 
South  Chicago  the  port  of  the  big  lake  ships. 

The  river  must  be  maintained  as  a  drainage 
canal.  To  deepen  it  will  do  away  in  some 
measure  with  the  necessity  for  widening  it. 
The  street  railways,  the  only  users  and  bene- 
ficiaries of  the  tunnels,  should  be  made  to  lower 
or  remove  them. 

The  traction  question  I  have  not  settled  in 
my  own  mind,  and  I  do  not  know  how  I  would 
dispose  of  it  if  I  were  mayor.  Municipal 
ownership  of  all  public  utilities  would  be  the 
best  solution  of  the  problems  of  transportation 
and  lighting.  I  believe  in  municipal  ownership, 
but  until  honest  men  can  be  assured  in  the 
public  service,  I  would  be  doubtful  of  the  wis- 
dom of  public  operation  of  these  utiHties.  As  a 
preparation  for  municipal  ownership,  I  would  use 
my  influence  to  clear  politics  out  of  the  city  hall. 

In  the  face  of  Chicago's  limit  of  bonded 
indebtedness,  I  do  not  see  how  the  city  can 

193 


M>omt  Mtaxtttttim^  of 


find  the  money  to  buy  the  trunk  traction  Hnes 
when  their  franchises  expire  next  year.  Un- 
der the  circumstances,  I  think  the  best  solution 
of  the  matter  is  an  arrangement  with  the  trac- 
tion companies  providing  for  the  payment  to 
the  city  of  a  fair  proportion  of  the  earnings  of 
the  hnes  involved. 

I  say  that  I  would  try  to  eliminate  politics 
from  the  city  service  and  get  honest  men  in 
all  city  offices.  I  wish  we  had  the  same  sort  of 
public  spirit  here  in  Chicago  as  exists  in  Glas- 
gow. There,  unless  a  man  is  of  sterling  worth 
and  unquestioned  honesty  he  cannot  even  be 
elected  to  the  city  council.  There  are  no  sa- 
loon-keepers among  the  Glasgow  aldermen. 

Glasgow  is  also  a  shining  example  of  the 
benefits  of  public  ownership.  The  city  owns 
its  water-works,  gas-works,  and  street  railways, 
and  revenues  from  these  public  utilities,  de- 
spite the  low  rates  charged  the  people,  are 
enough  to  pay  most  of  the  city's  expenses. 
There  are  more  saloons  in  Glasgow,  too,  than 
in  the  average  city  of  Great  Britain,  but  the 
citizens  do  not  allow  the  saloon  element  to  run 
the  city  government. 

There  are  honest  men  enough  in  Chicago 
of  all  parties,  to  provide  candidates  for  every 
city  office — men  who  would  serve  the  city 
and  not  their  party.  In  fact,  Chicago's  mayor 
should  be  elected  just  as  the  manager  of  a  big 
business  is  chosen,  not  because  of  his  political 
affiliation  or  influence,  but  with  direct  ref- 
194 


folm  B.  f ariucfl 


erence  to  his  ability  and  his  disposition  to  do 
his  duty. 

There  ought  to  be  no  place  in  the  city  gov- 
ernment for  a  man  who  wants  to  get  rich  out 
of  politics.  If  Chicago  could  get  officials  who 
would  honestly  administer  the  tax  law  and  the 
city's  finances,  we  would  have  more  money 
than  we  know  what  to  do  with. 

One  of  the  first  things  I  would  do,  after  pro- 
viding for  an  economical  adminstration,  would 
be  to  pave  the  streets  which  most  need  paving. 
It  is  well  known  that  many  streets  are  paved, 
and  many  sidewalks  laid  out  in  the  suburbs, 
where  the  need  of  them  is  not  so  pressing, 
just  to  provide  contractors  with  jobs.  I  would 
try  to  restore  the  streets  whose  present  condi- 
tion is  a  hindrance  to  Chicago's  business. 

Take  a  look  at  the  streets  which  are  now 
being  paved.  There  is  little  perfect  work. 
There  ought  to  be  a  standard  plan  and  speci- 
fications for  the  making  of  each  sort  of  pave- 
ment used,  and  if  I  were  mayor  I  would  see 
that  one  was  provided.  The  formula  would 
be  for  the  best  pavement  of  each  kind,  and  it 
would  have  to  be  adhered  to.  I  would  insure 
perfect  freedom  and  fairness  for  the  submission 
of  bids,  so  that  the  best  contractors  would 
compete  for  the  work.  With  a  good  super- 
intendent of  streets  there  would  be  no  chance 
for  bad  work  to  be  foisted  on  the  city. 

I  would  execute  the  law  closing  saloons  at 
midnight,  and  stop  the  tide  of  crime  which  is 
195 


^ome  iHecolIection^  of 


sweeping  the  city.  I  quite  agree  with  "The 
American"  that  the  right  sort  of  a  chief  of 
poHce  could  put  an  end  to  the  robberies,  bur- 
glaries, and  assaults  which  the  newspapers  are 
full  of  just  now. 

How  many  arrests  and  convictions  do  you 
read  of  to  balance  the  record  of  unlawful  acts  ? 
If  thieves  read  the  newspapers  they  must 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  Chicago  is  a  para- 
dise for  their  operations.  If  my  chief  of  police 
failed  to  execute  my  orders,  I  would  find  him 
another  place  —  outside  the  police  force. 

There  are  other  things  a  mayor  might  do  if 
he  could  find  the  money  to  carry  out  his  plans. 
My  first  work,  however,  if  I  were  mayor,  would 
be  to  see  that  the  money  which  the  city 
receives,  or  ought  to  receive,  was  honestly  ac- 
counted for  and  honestly  expended.  I  believe 
we  would  have  money  enough  for  every  neces- 
sary expense  if  our  revenues  were  rightly 
handled. 

WHAT   SHALL   WE    DO    WITH 
THE    BOYS? 

This  is  the  supreme  question  of  every  good 
mother's  head  and  heart  in  the  education  of 
her  children,  whose  **worser"  half,  as  a  rule, 
does  not  trouble  himself  with  such  questions 
any  too  much.  He  is  too  busy  making  haste 
to  be  rich  in  Jewish  shekels  instead  of  boys. 
He  may  have  forgotten  the  curriculum  of  his 
own  mother's  training,  with  the  help  of  a 
196 


Sfolin  15.  f  artocll 


Sturdy  farmer  who  always  had  something  for 
him  to  do,  even  while  he  was  learning  the 
multiphcation  table,  in  more  ways  than  one. 
He  does  not  imagine  that  his  boy,  most  of 
whose  education  has  been  in  the  line  of  spend- 
ing his  "governor's"  money  and  his  own  timie 
in  learning  how  not  to  do  things,  can  be  any- 
thing but  a  man  with  such  a  father,  and  such 
luxurious  surroundings,  which  usually  invite 
only  waste  of  character  along  with  waste  of 
money  and  time.  Is  not  this  the  explanation 
why  some  rich  men's  sons  are  ciphers  in  the 
arithmetic  of  life,  with  no  integers  in  front  of 
them  to  indicate  power  and  influence  upon 
society  and  in  the  circles  of  business,  church 
and  state  ?  Honest  work,  beginning  with 
boys,  is  more  of  a  factor  in  making  men  than 
the  most  of  us  are  aware.  No  one,  as  an 
employee,  can  have  any  respect  for  himself, 
unless  his  conscience  is  clear  as  to  having 
rendered  value  received  for  every  dollar  paid 
him,  with  a  surplus  to  his  credit  of  spent 
energy  in  making  himself  indispensable  to  his 
employer.  This  is  surely  what  will  make  him 
a  partner  in  the  business  in  hand  when  the 
opportunity  occurs.  Every  large  business 
centre  has  furnished  numerous  examples  of 
this  kind,  to  emphasize  the  value  of  fidelity 
to  others,  as  the  most  conspicuous  service  to 
one's  self,  and  every  college  in  existence  has 
turned  out  world  reformers  and  business  kings 
who,  as  the  result  of  hard  work  over  the  rudi- 
197 


^omc  iSetoIIection^  of 


ments,  as  well  as  the  principles  of  philoso- 
phy, literature,  and  political  economy,  have 
put  them  in  practice  as  men,  while  from  the 
same  environments  we  can  count  scores 
who  with  equal  chances,  and  perhaps  with 
more  natural  talents,  have  succumbed  to  the 
deadly  poison  of  indolent  and  dissolute  habits 
which  usually  follow  each  other,  and  become 
nonentities,  if  not  absolute  encumbrances  to 
society. 

Yes,  the  boy  that  sweeps  the  floor  the  best 
will  be  the  man  that  will  always  have  his  name 
at  the  head  of  the  firm  in  due  time,  and  the 
boys  that  never  get  their  lessons  out  of  their 
chum's  memorandum  books  will  be  the  men 
who  become  presidents  of  the  colleges,  the  rail- 
roads, and  the  banks.  Men  trust  them  for  the 
reason  that  they  have  never  cheated  them- 
selves in  the  great  game  of  life,  where  they 
have  assumed  and  borne  responsibilities,  in 
which,  as  in  the  brute  creation,  the  survival  of 
the  fittest  is  the  law  of  God  as  well  as  of  men. 
Nay,  it  is  more  the  law  of  God  with  intellect 
and  morals  than  in  the  brute  creation,  as  by 
this  law  it  has  been  decreed  that  man  shall  live 
"by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,"  and  **not  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  obedience  to  every  word  of  God," 
spoken  not  only  in  the  law  of  Moses,  but  also 
in  the  evolution  of  the  stars  and  of  men,  and  of 
the  world  we  live  in,  writ  large,  so  that  there 
is  no  excuse  for  not  reading  correctly  and  gov- 
erning ourselves  accordingly.  Given  the  boys 
ig8 


S^oftn  15.  f  artoell 


who  have  been  taught  that  time  and  the  oppor- 
tunity to  work,  and  personal  responsibihty  in 
their  use,  is  their  capital  in  trade,  and  we  have 
the  prophecy  of  the  men  who  will  be  honored 
in  every  calling  of  life. 

As  Professer  Drummond  has  said,  **Love  is 
the  greatest  thing  in  the  world."  Nay,  it  is 
the  greatest  thing  in  heaven.  For  God  on  his 
throne  so  loved  this  world  as  to  give  a  Child 
whose  name  was  called  Wonderful,  Councillor, 
the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Father,  the 
Prince  of  Peace."  He  was,  as  a  man,  a 
hard  worker  in  His  father's  carpenter  shop, 
before  He  spoke  love  and  life  into  the  civiliza- 
tion of  this  ninteenth  century,  in  voices  that 
from  Rome  to  the  present  have  had  no  equal, 
which  under  their  sunshine  has  produced 
more  men  to  emphasize  human  progress  in 
every  walk  of  life  in  the  last  seventy  years 
than  in  all  the  time  since  Adam  began  human 
history,  Paul  was  a  debtor  to  all  classes  of 
men,  that  his  work  was  changed  by  *'the  seed 
of  the  woman"  from  a  persecutor  into  the 
writing  of  that  love  not  on  tables  of  stone  but 
in  human  hearts,  making  them  "  living  epis- 
tles" of  its  power  over  men  to  work  this  mirac- 
ulous change  in  that  history,  which  is  yet  to 
culminate  in  the  Kingdom  of  God;  not  in 
bloody  revolutions  of  force,  but  in  trans- 
forming character  into  the  image  that  Christ 
left  in  Paul  and  all  his  successors  in  the 
work  of  love. 

199 


^ome  iSecoHection^  of 


TEXAS   AND    CAPITOL   BUILDING 
REMINISCENCES 

The  acquaintances  made  in  London,  while 
there  with  Mr.  Moody  in  1 875,  opened  the 
way  for  the  organization  of  the  Capitol  Free- 
hold Land  and  Cattle  Co.,  in  1886,  based  on 
3,000,000  acres  of  land  given  by  the  State  of 
Texas  for  the  erection  of  her  State  House  at 
Austin.  Quintin  Hogg,  T.  A.  Denny  and  Sir 
William  McArthur,  all  very  wealthy  and  well- 
known  men  in  London,  together  with  some 
well-known  men  of  whom  J.  V.  Farwell  & 
Co.  had  bought  goods  for  many  years,  formed 
a  credit  basis  for  raising  $5,000,000  to  build 
the  State  House  and  stock  the  3,000,000 
acres  of  land  with  cattle.  Boston  and  New 
York  men  tried  to  float  the  scheme  and  failed, 
and  I  certainly  would  not  try  another  job  like 
it  in  any  country.  The  country  where  this 
land  was  located  was  the  home  of  wolves, 
antelope,  buffaloes,  and  cattle  thieves  at  that 
time,  and  the  Indians  had  gone  only  a  few 
years  before. 

Now  there  are  three  railroads  running 
through  that  tract,  which  has  1,500  miles  of 
five-wire  fence  on  it,  with  farms  at  every 
headquarters  for  ranchmen. 

For  five  years  more  than  one  half  of  my 
time  was  spent  in  London  on  this  business, 
which  resulted  in  Texas  getting  one  of  the 
best  state  houses  in  the  Union,  and  the  devel- 
opment of  her  farming  and  cattle  interests, 
200 


S^ol^n  B.  f  artoefl 


such  as  was  never  dreamed  of  in  that  locality, 
until  it  was  demonstrated  that  Kaffir  corn, 
sorghum,  and  millet  could  be  grown  profita- 
bly where  it  was  thought  the  plow  would 
never  be  used  as  a  means  of  livelihood.  The 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  Texas  will  be  the 
richest  state  in  the  Union  in  agricultural  wealth, 
because  of  its  immense  area  of  farming  lands, 
suitable  for  cotton  and  all  other  agricultural 
products. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  as  law  was  one  of  the 
effective  means  to  that  end  in  giving  this  large 
tract  of  land  for  a  state  house,  other  laws  will 
be  passed  to  induce  capital  to  help,  instead  of 
hinder,  in  the  evolution  of  her  greatness. 

Robert  Lincoln  was  United  States  minister 
to  Great  Britain  while  I  was  in  London  on  the 
Texas  state  house  business,  and  wishing  to 
introduce  him  to  our  company's  officers  and 
other  EngUsh  friends  of  our  enterprises,  I  gave 
him  a  dinner  at  the  Hotel  Victoria  and  intro- 
duced him  with  a  proper  reference  to  his  father 
as  the  greatest  man  of  the  century,  measured 
by  his  work  in  saving  the  American  Union  and 
in  destroying  human  slavery,  in  which  he  had 
worthy  predecessors  in  Great  Britain,  in  such 
men  as  Sir  Powell  Buxton  and  William  Wil- 
berforce.  Sir  Powell  Buxton  once  said  in 
Parliament,  *'I  thank  God  that  I  have  pursuits 
in  life  so  deeply  interesting  as  they  proceed, 
and  so  full  of  promise  in  the  magnitude  of 
their  results,  that  they  deserve  to  absorb  my 

201 


^ome  iSecoIIection^  of 


whole  being.  I  would  not  exchange  objects 
in  life  with  any  living  being."  This  was  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  British  dominions. 

The  Marquis  Tweeddale,  the  chairman  of 
our  company,  made  an  address,  and  also  Mr. 
Robinson,  the  chairman  of  the  National  Pro- 
vincial Bank  of  England,  which  was  our  com- 
pany's banker.  Mr.  Lincoln  made  a  very  ap- 
propriate address  following  my  introduction. 
Altogether  the  gathering  was  very  satisfactory 
in  bringing  our  enterprise  to  the  attention  of 
such  men  as  William  Fowler,  M.  P.,  Lord  Ken- 
nard,  and  Sir  WilHam  Ewart,  Bart.,  M.  P. 

Coming  home  from  one  of  my  trips  to 
London  on  this  business,  I  had  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  experiences  of  my  life  in  a 
shipwreck,  which  I  described  in  the  "New 
York  Independent,"  and  in  interviews  with 
newspaper  correspondents,  one  of  which  I 
give  herewith. 

SCENES    ON   THE    "OREGON" 

PASSENGERS  PREPARED   TO    DIE 

The  Story  of  the  Collision  and  Sinking  of 

THE    CUNARD    StEAMER 
(Quoted) 

New  York,  March  15,  1886. 
Among  the  guests  sheltered  to-day  by  the 
hospitable  walls  of  the  Windsor  Hotel  are 
Judge  Drummond  and  Mr.  John  V.  Farwell,  of 
Chicago,  who  twenty-four  hours  ago  were  toss- 
ing about  on  the  open  sea,  fearful  lest  starva- 
202 


fotin  B.  fartocH 


tion  should  overtake  them  before  the  little  lum- 
ber schooner  which  had  rescued  them,  with 
other  passengers,  from  the  wrecked  steamer 
"Oregon,"  should  make  the  land.  Both  gen- 
tlemen have  received  my  congratulations  to-day 
on  their  escape,  and  are  disposed  to  talk  freely 
about  their  adventures.  Mr.  Farwell,  speak- 
ing in  detail,  said: 

''The  shock  occurred  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  when  everybody  was  asleep,  ex- 
cept perhaps  the  officers  on  duty.  I  heard 
the  crash  distinctly.  It  seemed  as  though  the 
masts  had  fallen' over  the  deck  of  the  vessel. 
It  sounded  Hke  the  falling  of  trees.  The  pas- 
senger in  the  next  stateroom  to  mine  was 
awake  and  said  afterwards  that  he  saw  the 
schooner  go  down  which  struck  us,  and  I  think 
it  must  have  been  a  complete  smashup,  for  the 
boat  and  probably  all  on  board  were  lost.  The 
lack  of  excitement,  or  rather  the  absence  of 
all  demonstrations  by  the  imperiled  passen- 
gers, is  due  entirely  to  the  coolness  of  the 
commanding  officers  of  the  'Oregon,'  and  their 
reiterated  assurance  that  the  ship  could  not 
go  down  for  some  time  to  come,  and  that 
ample  time  was  afforded  for  the  rescue  of 
passengers.  Not  an  accident  occurred  during 
the  transfer  of  the  passengers  from  the  'Or- 
egon' to  the  rescuing  vessels,  but  it  looked 
very  critical  for  us  at  one  time.  Two  steamers 
passed  and  were  signalled,  but  gave  no  re- 
sponse. In  fact  our  signals  were  not  of  the 
203 


^ome  JHecolIection^  of 


best  kind.  I  noticed  that  the  rockets  that  were 
sent  up  did  not  go  above  the  masts  of  the  ship, 
and  the  cannon  that  we  fired  did  not  make  as 
much  noise  as  the  old  Fourth  of  July  anvil  that 
I  used  to  assist  in  firing  when  I  was  a  boy. 

**  When  the  passenger  steamers  did  not  rec- 
ognize our  signals  of  distress  we  all  felt  very 
blue,  and  made  up  our  minds  that  we  were  lost, 
for  the  water  was  pouring  in  the  open  side  of 
the  vessel  at  a  terrible  pace.  Just  at  this  time 
Pilot  Boat  No.  7  hove  in  sight  and  came  up 
to  us,  and  it  was  announced  that  the  pilot  boat 
with  the  ship's  life-boats  could  take  off  all 
passengers.  A  schooner,  carrying  lumber  from 
Maine,  came  up  about  the  same  time,  and  then 
we  all  felt  happy. 

**In  the  meantime  we  had  all  been  told  to  get 
hot  coffee,  which  was  served  out  in  the  regular 
dining-room.  Within  twenty  minutes  from  the 
time  when  we  left  the  ship  the  'Fulda'  came  in 
sight.  It  was  Heaven's  offering  to  us,  for  all 
the  boats  were  full,  and  the  wind  was  very  cold 
and  cutting.  The  fact  that  the  colHsion  oc- 
curred at  daylight,  that  there  was  little  sea, 
together  with  the  coolness  of  the  officers,  and 
the  opportune  arrival  of  the  pilot  boat,  the 
lumber  schooner  and  the  '  Fulda,'  is  all  in  all  very 
remarkable.  This  is  no  time  for  criticism. 
We  lost  all  our  baggage  and  were  not  allowed 
to  take  off  even  our  hand  bags,  but  we  are  glad, 
and  should  be,  that  our  lives  are  saved.  The 
collision  was  probably  more  serious  than  the 
204 


Sfolrn  ^.  f  artoell 


officers  thought  at  the  time.  The  smash  broke 
through  into  the  fire-room  and  the  ship  could 
not  be  navigated,  otherwise  we  should  probably 
have  been  taken  into  the  harbor  on  board  of 
our  own  ship." 

Judge  Drummond,  though  slightly  shaken  up 
by  his  experience  after  leaving  the  "Oregon,"  is 
in  perfect  good  health,  and  is  disposed  to  look 
on  the  whole  matter  as  merely  an  exciting  in- 
cident of  the  voyage.  He  was  awakened  by 
the  shock  of  the  collision,  and  was  dressing 
when  notified  of  what  had  occurred  by  Mr. 
Farwell,who  occupied  an  adjoining  stateroom. 
With  Mr.  Farwell  and  Mr.  Sturges,  who  was 
in  the  stateroom  next  to  Mr.  Farwell's,  he  as- 
cended to  the  main  deck.  This  was  found  to 
be  jammed  with  passengers,  many  of  whom 
were  disposed  to  rush  frantically  for  the  boats, 
but  were  quieted  by  the  coolness  of  the  offi- 
cers. The  trio  then  climbed  up  to  the  upper 
deck  to  await  results,  fearing  despite  the  as- 
surance of  the  officers  that  there  was  no  hope 
of  rescue. 

Mr.  Farwell  then  crept  along  to  the  bow  of 
the  steamer,  and  let  himself  down  by  grasping 
a  loose  line  and  swinging  into  a  boat  below. 
"I  asked  him,"  said  the  Judge,  *'if  he  was 
excited,"  but  he  simply  answered,  smihng 
a  cold-blooded,  so-much-per-pair  dry-goods 
smile,  that  he  was  as  cool  **as  a  cucumber." 
Following  Mr.  Farwell,  they  then  slipped 
down  into  another  boat,  which  was  ready  to 
205 


^ome  iSecoflection^  of 


pull  out.  Mr.  Sturges  also  dropped  into  the 
same  boat,  and  after  being  somewhat  pitched 
about  by  the  choppy  waves,  they  reached  the 
schooner,  from  which  hours  later  they  were 
transferred  to  the  "Fulda,"  making  quarantine 
last  midnight,  and  the  dock  at  eight  o'clock 
this  morning. 

At  the  time  when  the  passengers  were  con- 
vinced that  death  was  staring  them  in  the  face, 
Judge  Drummond  was  cool  and  collected,  and 
when  he  pulled  himself  up  by  the  arms  from 
the  life-boat  in  which  he  left  the  ship,  over 
the  schooner's  side,  he  was  smiling  and  active. 
As  soon  as  he  felt  that  he  was  safe,  a  reac- 
tion set  in,  but  it  was  not  of  long  duration, 
and  passed  away  entirely  before  the  transfer 
to  the  "Fulda." 

A    PREFACE 

The  Fleming  H.  Revell  Publishing  Co.  re- 
quested me  to  write  an  introduction  to  a  book 
written  specially  for  young  men,  and  I  give  it 
here  as  a  reminder  to  my  own  children  and 
grandchildren  of  my  desires  for  them : 

"Every  young  man  who  is  desirous  of  mak- 
ing his  life  bud,  blossom,  and  become  fruitful 
in  all  that  is  good  and  sublime,  should  remem- 
ber these  two  things  —  that  goodness  is  the 
foundation  upon  which  sublimity  rests,  and 
that  he  must  dedicate  every  power  of  body 
and  mind  to  achieve  a  result  so  glorious.  In 
other  words,  he  must  make  a  business  of  it. 
206 


Sottm  B.  fartDril 


"This  result  was  never  awarded  to  man 
simply  because  he  asked  for  it,  nor  has  it  ever 
fallen  out  by  chance,  nor  been  given  as  the 
consequence  of  unintelligent  labor.  It  is  a 
great  blessing  to  have  inherited  a  good  con- 
stitution and  strong  mental  characteristics. 
They  make  a  splendid  capital  for  investment. 
But  after  all,  it  is  the  labor  and  the  struggle 
of  the  man,  in  their  investment  and  use,  that 
bring  the  priceless  return. 

''General  Grant  was  probably  born  a  soldier. 
But  study  the  profound  mental  exertion  which 
he  put  forth  to  make  those  natural  gifts  crush 
the  most  powerful  rebellion  against  constitu- 
tional government  that  ever  broke  the  peace 
of  nations.  See  the  exhibition  of  the  con- 
centrated energy  of  his  will  when  he  replied 
to  Gen.  Buckner's  request  for  him  to  name 
the  conditions  for  the  surrender  of  Ft.  Don- 
aldson :  '  Unconditional  surrender,  or  I  will 
move  upon  your  works.'  The  far-sighted  Lin- 
coln beheld  in  this  expression  the  revelation 
of  the  greatest  soldier  of  the  age,  and  he  ad- 
vanced him  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the  com- 
mand of  all  the  armies. 

''Such  revelations  as  this  of  mental  power 
and  purpose  are  always  detected  by  men  in 
commanding  positions,  and  they  are  ever  on 
the  lookout  for  the  young  man  to  carry  out 
their  plans.  There  are  more  great  opportu- 
nities than  there  are  great  men.  Some  one 
who  has  a  place  of  power  to  bestow  will  give 
207 


^ome  iSecoIIectian^  of 


it  to  you,  if  you  have  the  capacity  to  fill  it. 
*  There  is  always  room  at  the  top.' 

"The  author  of  this  book  presents  the  names 
of  Lincoln,  Grant,  and  Garfield  as  proofs  to  all 
ambitious  young  men  that  they  need  not  be 
discouraged  at  finding  themselves  in  a  lowly 
position.  These  heroes  worked  their  way  up 
from  obscurity  into  the  most  powerful  places 
of  usefulness  the  world  has  ever  known  by 
carefully  and  conscientiously  using  the  talents 
which  God  had  given  them.  These  were  emi- 
nently self-made  men,  after  God's  fiat  had 
made  them  of  the  right  material,  modest  to  a 
fault.  They  worshiped  not  themselves  as 
makers  of  their  own  fortunes,  but  the  God 
who  had  endowed  them  with  the  power  to 
do  it. 

"These  names  are  given  here  as  contem- 
porary with  the  young  men  who  will  read  this 
book,  while  there  are  hundreds  of  others  of  all 
ages  and  nations,  whose  names  have  been  in- 
troduced into  the  pages  of  history  to  let  the 
light  of  their  example  so  shine  that  borrowed 
rays  may  reflect  the  perfect  man  upon  the 
minds  of  to-day's  youthful  aspirants. 

"That  nation  has  reason  for  pride  and  hope 
which  sees  a  generation  of  young  men  grow- 
ing up  who  are  marked  by  lofty  purposes  and 
a  noble  character.  No  other  nation  has  had  to 
form  the  character  of  her  sons  under  greater 
disadvantages  than  ours.  For  many  years 
Europe  has  used  America  for  a  dumping- 
208 


S^oftn  15.  5FattDeH 


ground  into  which  she  cast  her  moral  and 
poHtical  refuse.  At  a  recent  Fourth  of  July 
celebration  in  London,  where  three  hundred 
American  delegates  to  the  World's  Sunday- 
school  Convention  met  to  confess  their  patri- 
otism, an  eminent  Englishman  said  that  the 
strongest  proof  of  our  national  greatness  was 
in  our  ability  to  make  good  citizens  out  of 
such  wretched  material.  I  reminded  him  of 
the  terrible  earnestness  of  our  purpose  to  do 
this,  as  revealed  in  the  execution  of  the  Chicago 
anarchists.  The  significance  of  that  tragic 
event  lay  in  the  determination  to  make  these 
men  an  example  to  all  those  who  refuse  to 
adopt  the  lofty  standard  of  American  citi- 
zenship. 

"Beside  this  great  obstacle  to  the  develop- 
ment of  a  noble  generation  of  young  men  we 
place  another  not  less  difficult  to  surmount. 
I  refer  to  that  pernicious  literature  with  which 
American  greed  for  gain  is  flooding  our  land, 
and  which  panders  to  all  the  natural  lusts  of 
youth.  Yellow-colored  novels,  police  exposi- 
tions of  crime,  unblushing  pubHcations  of  in- 
fidel and  atheistic  views  are  being  circulated 
with  enormous  rapidity,  and  are  steadily  cor- 
rupting the  rising  generation.  It  is  sad  and 
discouraging  to  see  the  railroad  news-agents 
employed  in  their  dissemination,  and  I  trust 
that  this  volume  may  be  placed  in  their  hands 
for  sale,  and  that  the  same  persevering  energy 
which  has,  through  this  same  agency,  distrib- 
209 


^ome  iSecoHection^  of 


uted  no  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  of 
D.  L.  Moody's  books  may  make  such  books 
displace  the  vile  trash  too  often  sold  to  the 
young  and  innocent. 

"The  author  of  this  work  has  evidently 
made  a  successful  effort  to  furnish  another 
antidote  for  this  worse  than  light  literature. 
It  is  an  inspiration  to  read  this  volume,  and  to 
feel  in  reading  that  it  is  the  prophecy  of 
myriads  of  other  readers  among  the  young 
who  will  catch  the  inspiration  of  its  pages, 
and  lay  such  a  foundation  of  character  as  can- 
not fail  to  demonstrate  the  secret  of  success- 
ful living. 

"I  often  look  with  pity  upon  young  men 
who  sit  reading  on  the  trains  such  works  as 
cannot  but  produce  moral  and  mental  corrup- 
tion. They  say  they  are  only  'killing  time,' 
but  in  reality  they  are  killing  the  best  things 
in  themselves. 

"Follow  that  young  man  over  there,  who  is 
so  absorbed,  and  whose  excited  face  reveals 
the  inward  tumult  of  his  heart  —  follow  him,  I 
say,  for  the  next  few  years,  and  you  will  soon 
discover  that  he  has  become  an  actor  in  the 
scenes  of  folly  or  vice  about  which  he  is  now 
only  a  reader.  His  sallow  face,  his  bleared 
eyes,  his  wasted  form  will  tell  you  plainer 
than  words  the  dreadful  experience  through 
which  these  books  have  led  him. 

*'Just  across  the  aisle  from  him  is  another 
young    man    who    would    scorn    to    read    the 

210 


3Foftn  "B.  f  artoell 


stories  of  lust ,  but  he  has  seized  upon  and  is 
devouring  one  of  Ingersoll's  attacks  upon  the 
Scriptures.  He  follows  the  great  sceptic  as 
he  skilfully  draws  the  very  framework — the 
supernatural  element — out  of  the  Bible,  and 
leaves  the  venerable  Book  a  shapeless  jelly- 
fish. See  him  sneer  as  he  reads  this  ven- 
omous assault  upon  the  story  of  Lazarus.  He 
joins  Herod,  the  murderer  of  Jesus,  and  again 
crucifies  the  Son  of  God  afresh.  He  is  a 
philosopher,  he  beheves  only  what  can  be  seen 
and  heard.  But,  alas !  in  a  few  short  years, 
when  trouble  comes,  the  poor  fellow  finds 
himself  drifting  on  fife's  sea  without  chart, 
compass,  or  anchor.  Our  country  is  full  of 
such  victims  of  pernicious  literature.  It  were 
well  if  such  young  men  could  read  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  the  book  of  Acts,  and  follow  up 
that  reading  with  a  study  of  the  church  sta- 
tistics of  to-day.  They  will  be  the  answer  to 
speculative  infidelity,  and  show  whether  the 
*  gates  of  hell '  are  prevaiHng  against  the  King- 
dom of  Jesus  Christ. 

"Let  me  ask  you  to  look  at  one  other 
young  man  on  this  same  train.  He  has  in  his 
hand,  and  is  greedily  devouring,  some  standard 
history  or  treatise  on  some  scientific  question. 
All  his  faculties  are  awake  and  he  grapples 
with  great  problems.  A  few  short  hours  ago 
he  opened  the  door  of  the  old  farm-house, 
where  he  had  been  carefully  reared,  and 
started  out  to  achieve  a  career.     His  mother 

211 


^ome  iHecoUcction^  of 


followed  him  to  the  gate,  imprinted  her  fare- 
well kiss  upon  his  lips,  and  with  tearful  eyes 
urged  him  to  read  good  books,  associate  with 
good  companions,  and  allow  himself  only  pure 
amusements.  He  looks  as  if  he  had  determined 
to  follow  that  advice,  and  if  he  does,  you  may 
be  sure  that  it  will  not  be  many  years  before  he 
will  occupy  an  enviable  place  in  the  world. 

"Good  books,  good  companions,  pure 
amusements,  and  noble  purpose — ah,  young 
man,  keep  them  always  in  your  heart.  Above 
all  other  books,  cherish  the  old  Bible.  I  often 
think  of  the  remark  of  one  of  England's  great- 
est men.  'I  have,'  said  he,  'objects  in  life 
so  deeply  interesting  as  they  proceed,  and  so 
full  of  promise  as  to  the  magnitude  of  their 
results,  that  they  ought  to  absorb  my  whole 
being.  I  would  not  exchange  objects  in  life 
with  any  man. ' 

**The  author  of  these  words  accomplished 
the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  British  colonies 
by  act  of  Parliament.  Reader,  you  may  never 
have  the  opportunity  to  accomplish  results  of 
such  magnitude,  but  you  can  achieve  a  noble 
life.  An  unseen  violet  is  no  less  beautiful 
than  one  which  every  eye  beholds.  A  work 
is  no  less  great,  although  its  author  is  forgot- 
ten or  unknown.  Do  your  work  for  God,  the 
author  of  your  being,  and  He  will  reward  you 
if  it  is  well  done. 

"  I  hope  and  I  believe  that  the  end  which  the 
author  of  this   book  so  earnestly  and  wisely 

212 


foJm  1^.  f arluril 


aims  at — the  ennobling  of  the  moral  natures 
of  young  men — will  be,  to  a  large  degree,  ac- 
complished by  its  wholesome,  truthful  pages, 
and  thus  prove  a  true  finger-post  to  the  real 
secret  of  success." 

A  TRIBUTE    TO    MRS.    HAYES'   TEM- 
PERANCE IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Chicago,  January  31,  1881. 
To  Mrs.  President  R.  B.  Hayes: 

Enduring  monuments  are  never  reared  with- 
out adequate  motives.  Marble,  granite  and 
bronze  have  thus  testified  to  noble  deeds  in  all 
ages  and  made  the  memory  of  their  authors 
precious  long  after  their  ashes  have  mingled 
with  the  forgotten  past. 

The  young  men  of  our  country  connected 
with  Christian  associations  for  the  benefit  of 
their  class  in  morals  and  religion,  desire  to  rec- 
ognize in  some  appropriate  manner  the  value 
of  your  example  as  the  presiding  genius  of 
social  gatherings  at  the  presidential  mansion 
in  banishing  spirituous  liquors  from  the  table. 
At  no  time,  and  in  no  place,  is  it  possible  for  a 
good  example  to  exert  a  wider  influence  in  the 
direction  of  aiding  a  pure  public  sentiment 
against  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors  as  a  bev- 
erage, and  with  no  class  can  it  be  of  so  much 
value  as  with  young  men,  who  are  so  soon  to 
assume  places  of  trust  in  Church  and  State,  to 
preserve  the  religious  and  civil  liberties  of  our 
great  nation.  Every  advance  in  the  standard  of 
213 


^ome  iliecollectton^  of 


national  character  must  spring  from  the  heart 
and  brain  of  young  men  ahve  to  these  great 
interests.  As  a  wife  and  a  mother  in  the  high- 
est civil  and  social  position  in  the  nation,  you 
have  said  to  its  young  men  by  your  brave  act, 
in  the  face  of  their  honored  customs,  "touch 
not,  taste  not,  handle  not  the  accursed  thing," 
and  by  so  doing  have  earned  their  lasting  grat- 
itude, for  it  betokens  a  large  advance  in  ele- 
vated thought  and  pure  action,  from  a  stand- 
point that  must  make  its  influence  felt  in  the 
lowliest  hamlet  as  well  as  the  highest  social 
palace. 

With  these  convictions  I  desire,  in  the  name 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of 
our  country,  and  of  the  great  army  of  young  men 
in  whose  interest  they  are  organized  in  the  ser- 
vice of  our  common  Master,  to  thank  you  for 
your  firm  and  noble  example  in  the  line  of 
pure  social  customs;  and  in  token  of  our  ap- 
preciation of  the  motives  that  inspired  it  and 
the  results  that  must  surely  follow  the  same, 
we  have  the  honor  to  append  our  autographs 
in  the  accompanying  album  to  a  testimonial 
from  many  higher  and  more  honored  sources 
of  recognition  of  its  benign  influence. 
Yours  most  respectfully, 

John  V.  Farwell, 
Of  the  State  Ex.  Com.  for  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s. 


214 


& 

■        .v:.,Wj/    -  .■    ^,^'■ — 7-r-^ — 

'i-'  . . 

K    .   ■ 
J-'     • 

>/       • 

?'^  ,.:^  '?^*i^-  i*^    :  r 

^M 

l^p^-^;f  -' £■ 

^gl^&i      v/'^'- 

•*^  1l 

ADDRESS  AT  THE  FUNERAL  OF 

jmr.  91o]^n  la.  f  artoell 

AUGUST  24,  1908 

IN   THE    LAKE    FOREST    PRESBYTERIAN 

CHURCH 

By  the  Reverend  James  G.  K.  McClure,  D.  D., 

LL.  D.,  President  of  McCormick 

Theological  Seminary 


EVERY  one  is  glad  that  this  service  of 
love  is  held  in  a  Christian  church  where 
all  may  assemble.  It  is  a  public  service, 
because  Mr.  Farwell  lived  for  the  public.  It  is 
a  religious  service  because  Mr.  Farwell  found 
all  his  inspiration  in  religious  truth. 

There  are  times  when  we  feel  that  a  privi- 
lege is  denied  us  if  some  voice  does  not  at- 
tempt to  speak  the  thoughts  of  our  hearts  — 
if  we  do  not  hear  expressed  the  appreciation 
that  lies  deep  within  our  spirits.  Such  a  time 
is  this.  A  man  known,  honored  and  beloved 
has  completed  his  life-course.  We  are  eager 
to  tarry  a  little  while  in  quietness  that  we  may 
think  about  him,  and  ponder  the  significance 
of  his  character  and  services. 

The  story  of  his  career  is  wonderful.  Here 
is  a  little  boy,  born  in  western  New  York, 
threading  his  way  with  his  parents  into  the 
215 


^ome  mecollectian^  of 


unknown  wilderness  of  Illinois.  All  the  dif- 
ficulties incident  to  pioneer  life  must  be  met. 
The  family  start  their  new  home.  The  boy 
grows  up.  He  is  scarce  a  man  in  years  when 
he  leaves  his  home,  enters  Chicago  and  at- 
tempts to  find  a  place  for  himself.  Tempta- 
tions of  every  kind  are  about  him.  The  crude 
condition  of  the  city  as  it  then  was  makes  it 
unprepared  to  offer  special  help  to  a  youth 
coming  as  a  stranger  to  it.  But  the  young 
man  has  purpose,  fixed  and  unalterable,  to  do 
a  worthy  part — to  make  his  way — to  begin 
the  ascent  of  development  and  of  usefulness. 
He  avails  himself  of  any  work  he  can  honor- 
ably do.  He  does  his  work  so  well,  so 
faithfully,  he  does  so  much  more  work  for  his 
wages  than  could  rightly  be  expected  of  him, 
that  he  catches  the  eye  of  merchants,  and  his 
services  are  sought  by  them.  His  foot  is  on 
the  first  round  of  the  ladder!  Once  there,  his 
foot  mounts  higher  and  higher,  until  he  stands 
so  far  up  that  his  name  is  known  in  this  and 
other  lands,  and  he  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the 
leaders  of  mankind.  It  almost  seems,  when 
we  review  such  a  career  in  an  instant,  as 
though  a  magician's  wand  had  moved  over 
the  boy,  and  by  some  unexplainable  process 
had  brought  about  these  marvelous  results. 

But  Mr.  Farwell's  career  was  his  own.     No 

magician  had  aught  to  do  with  it.     He  was  a 

self-made  man — in  the  best  and  highest  sense. 

It  is  true  that  he  owed  much  to  ancestry.    No 

216 


S^oftn  B.  f  attoeil 


one  was  more  ready  to  express  such  acknowl- 
edgment than  himself.  He  came  from  ear- 
nest, devout,  untiring  parents.  The  first  thing 
these  parents  did  as  soon  as  they  put  together 
their  log  house  in  Illinois  was  to  build  a 
schoolhouse  and  a  church.  They  knew  the 
power  and  the  worth  of  education  and  religion. 
Mr.  Farwell  grew  up  in  the  best  type  of  home 
America,  or  the  world,  has  ever  known,  or  will 
ever  know.  He  was  nourished  in  industry,  in 
thrift,  in  abihty  to  make  a  little  accomplish 
much,  in  strict  integrity,  in  outlook  upon  larger 
life,  in  every  virtue  for  which  the  name  of 
Christ  stands. 

He  loved  to  speak  of  these  early  surround- 
ings. They  grew  increasingly  dear  to  him  as 
his  days  matured.  What  his  father  and  mother 
did  for  him,  what  his  circumstances  necessi- 
tated in  him,  what  openings  came  to  him  in  the 
first  years  of  his  living  in  Chicago — these 
were  assets,  great  assets,  on  which  he  always 
set  high  value. 

But  when  we  estimate  Mr.  Farwell's  career 
—  while  we  take  full  cognizance  of  all  the 
helps  he  had, — we  cannot  but  see  that  it  was 
he  himself  who  made  his  life  what  it  became. 
He  entered  Chicago  unheralded.  He  came 
there  unbacked  by  a  single  financial  help.  He 
came  there  with  no  liberal  education  behind 
him.  But  he  had  a  clear  brain,  a  strong  arm, 
a  brave  heart  and  a  clean  spirit,  and  he  was 
bound  to  make  his  way. 
217 


M>tnnt  iSecoflectton^  of 


Perhaps  I  dwell  upon  these  things  too  em- 
phatically. I  dwell  upon  them  because  they  are 
my  joy,  my  stimulus.  Nothing  so  appeals  to  me 
as  the  history  of  men  who  have  conquered  diffi- 
culties, who  have  wrought  righteousness,  who 
have  left  worthy  examples.  Such  men  enrich 
life — not  alone  for  their  children,  but  also  for  us 
all.  And  when  we  tell  the  story  of  their  growth 
and  power,  we  stir  hope,  and  we  stir  purpose 
for  good,  in  every  manly  heart  that  hears  us. 

Yes,  he  was  a  self-made  man.  And  still  he 
would  not  wish  us  to  put  the  statement  in  just 
that  form.  Rather  he  would  say,  "I  was  a 
Christ-made  man."  I  have  hstened  to  him 
again  and  again  as  he  has  told  of  his  starting  life 
as  a  Christian  boy — with  his  knowledge  of  pa- 
rental prayers  attending  him;  of  his  coming  to 
Chicago  with  defined  Christian  determination; 
of  his  being  invited  to  a  parlor  prayer-meet- 
ing during  the  Revival  of  185 7- 1858;  and  of 
his  reaching  in  that  meeting  a  new  level  of 
Christian  consecration.  For  twenty-seven 
years  he  and  I  have  walked  together  in  close 
friendship.  I  have  known  him  in  all  hours  — 
hours  of  brightness  and  of  shadow,  of  recrea- 
tion and  of  labor — at  home  and  away  from 
home  —  and  I  am  sure  that  back  of  every 
other  thought  of  his  heart  and  deed  of  his 
conduct  lay  his  interest  in  Christ  and  the  wel- 
fare of  Christ's  kingdom. 

Every  man's  religion  is  in  a  certain  respect 
his    own.     No  one  of  us  exactly  reproduces 


golm  B.  f  artocH 


the  views,  the  methods,  the  expressions  of  an- 
other. We  may  hold  to  the  same  Master,  but 
each  of  us  has  his  own  individuaUty  through 
which  he  serves  that  Master. 

Mr.  Farwell's  individuality  was  evangelistic. 
He  loved  the  books,  the  assemblages,  the  ad- 
dresses, that  appealed  to  men  to  leave  sin 
and  choose  godliness.  It  was  this  evange- 
lism that  made  him  so  ready  to  give  time, 
thought,  labor  and  money  to  the  first  move- 
ment of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation, and  put  him  into  vital  touch  with  Dwight 
L.  Moody,  to  whom  he  rendered  substantial 
help.  Throughout  all  his  hfe  he  responded 
to  every  request  that  he  could  possibly  meet 
to  attend,  participate  in,  and  give  force  to  meet- 
ings that  sought  the  redemption  of  the  lost. 
Until  these  very  last  months  he  would  brave 
any  weather,  and  take  any  necessary  journey, 
that  he  might  go  where  he  could  speak  for 
his  Master,  where  he  could  cheer  Christian 
workers  by  his  presence,  words  and  sympathy. 
He  beheved  in  the  need  and  effectiveness  of 
rescue  work.  He  would  save  exposed  child- 
hood through  the  mission  school:  he  would 
save  fallen  manhood  through  the  mission  hall. 
His  own  words  were:  ''The  real  business  of 
all  who  would  follow  Christ  is  to  save  souls 
from  death,  and  thus  hide  a  multitude  of  sins." 

So  far  as  the  situation  in  any  given  com- 
munity would  allow,  he  desired  all  branches  of 
the  Christian  church  to  unite  in  evangelistic 
219 


^ome  KccoIIecttonj^  of 


services.  Union  movements  for  the  good  of 
men  appealed  to  him.  He  was  an  elder  in 
this  Lake  Forest  Presbyterian  Church  for 
thirty-six  years,  and  he  faithfully  stood  by 
and  assisted  the  agencies  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian denomination.  But  nothing  rejoiced  him 
more  than  to  hear  of  great  stirrings  of  heart 
and  conscience  when  whole  towns  and  cities 
were  religiously  aroused,  and  all  bodies  of 
believers  were  as  one  in  their  common  efforts 
for  human  welfare.  He  longed  for  the  day 
when  denominational  distinctions  ceasing  to 
be  barriers  between  brethren,  should  become 
links  in  a  chain  of  fellowship. 

His  public  spirit  was  a  marked  feature  of 
his  character.  It  distinguished  him  from  the 
very  outset.  He  wished  the  good  of  Chicago 
from  the  day  he  came  to  it.  He  took  part 
in  hundreds  of  enterprises  that  had  in  view 
the  development  of  the  city.  His  public  spirit 
extended  beyond  Chicago  and  Ilhnois  to  the 
nation.  The  civil  war  of  1 86 1  found  him 
doing  whatever  was  within  his  power  to  for- 
ward troops  to  the  front.  The  Christian  Com- 
mission, organized  for  the  purpose  of  relieving 
the  needs  of  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  re- 
ceived his  personal  attention  and  took  him  to  the 
seat  of  war  itself.  Later  his  mterest  in  the  In- 
dians expressed  itself  through  his  services  on 
the  Indian  Commission  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  given  to  but  few  lives  to  cover  so  many 
years  and  to  reach  their  conclusion  so  serenely. 

220 


^tA^n  "B.  f  artDclI 


Only  last  month  he  celebrated  his  eighty-third 
birthday.  Flowers,  gifts  and  loving  friends  were 
about  him.  Eighty-three  years  span  a  vast 
extent  of  American  history.  The  vicinage 
where  we  now  hold  this  service  was  unbroken 
wilderness  in  1825.  The  city  of  Chicago  was 
unknown.  Later  it  had  but  10,000  inhabitants 
when  Mr.  Farwell  first  entered  it.  Yes,  eighty- 
three  years  span  much  even  in  the  world's 
history,  going  back  beyond  all  railroads  and  all 
the  devices  of  rapid  communication  of  every 
kind.  The  nations  were  far  apart  in  1825, 
the  great  movements  of  foreign  missions  were 
only  starting,  the  ends  of  the  earth  were  still 
undiscovered. 

Those  same  eighty-three  years  span  much 
of  personal  experience.  One  beauty  of  this 
life  was  that  it  had  many  difficulties  to  sur- 
mount, many  conflicts  to  pass  through,  many 
burdens  to  bear  —  and  that  out  of  all  these 
difficulties,  conflicts,  burdens,  it  came,  like  a 
ship  outriding  the  storms — sweetly  and  hap- 
pily to  its  consummation.  If  life  had  been  all 
ease  to  Mr.  Farwell,  his  career  would  never 
have  been  so  significant. 

I  scarcely  know  of  anything  more  beautiful 
than  his  declining  days.  Here  in  Lake  Forest 
he  lived  amidst  trees  and  flowers  and  birds. 
The  great  commercial  enterprises  associated 
with  his  name  were  led  and  managed  by  those 
in  whom  he  reposed  perfect  confidence.  He 
had  no  anxieties  for  the  material  interests  of 


^ome  Mttnlltttim^  of 


life.  He  could  read  what  he  desired  to  read, 
and  whenever  he  thought  his  pen  would  throw 
light  upon  any  problems  of  church  or  state,  he 
could  make  his  contribution  to  the  press. 
He  could  correspond  with  good  men  through- 
out the  world.  He  could  dip  deeper  and  deeper 
into  his  copy  of  the  Bible  that  was  marked  by 
his  own  hand  with  notes  that  illuminated  its 
meaning.  He  could  attend  pubHc  worship  and 
bear  his  testimony  to  the  joy  and  support  of 
Christian  faith.  He  could  send  out  his  bene- 
factions to  worthy  causes  far  and  near. 

Most  marked  of  all  the  beauty  of  these  last 
days  was  the  presence  of  his  entire  family  circle 
within  the  brief  radius  of  this  community.  Ev- 
ery child  was  here.  Every  child  had  residence 
here.  Every  child  could  come  to  see  him  well- 
nigh  daily.  All  the  grandchildren  called  Lake 
Forest  home,  and  could  bring  the  brightness  and 
cheer  of  their  loving  greetings  to  him.  Best  of 
all,  every  one  of  his  children  and  every  one  of 
his  grandchildren  was  a  comfort  to  his  heart. 
For  each  he  might  thank  God  every  day. 

So  it  was  that  he  and  Mrs.  Farwell  knew 
together  the  rare  joy  of  having  all  their  family 
line  rise  up  to  bless  them,  and  they  drew  the 
closer  to  one  another  as  they  realized  that  God 
in  his  goodness  had  made  their  cup  to  overflow. 

A  life  like  this  does  not  die.  It  lives  on 
in  institutions,  in  movements,  and  in  men. 
Names  may  be  forgotten.  Be  it  so  !  But  the 
influences    that   are   embodied  in  institutions, 

222 


g^of^n  B.  5FartoriI 


movements  and  men,  abide  —  and  do  their 
work — and  the  world  grows  better.  Blessed  is 
the  man  who  lies  down  in  his  grave  to  have  his 
helpful  work  follow  him  throughout  eternity. 

I  have  said  these  words  with  a  full  heart. 
They  are  the  words  of  one  who  loved  Mr. 
Farwell,  and  who  rejoiced  in  his  friendship. 
Twenty-seven  years  ago  he  bade  me  leave  my 
Eastern  home  and  venture  upon  a  pastorate 
here,  and  he  pledged  me  his  help.  During  all 
these  years  he  has  been  my  encouragement. 
There  have  been  hundreds  of  times  when  we 
have  talked  together  of  the  Christ  and  knelt 
together  in  petition  for  the  Kingdom. 

With  the  greatest  humility  he  approached 
his  earthly  end.  His  hope  was  not  in  his  love 
to  God,  but  in  God's  love  to  him.  He  de- 
pended upon  the  merciful,  forgiving  grace  of 
God.  Through  that  grace,  and  that  grace 
alone,  he  expected  to  see  the  face  of  God  and 
enter  upon  a  new  and  larger  life.  In  that  ex- 
pectation he  patiently  and  sweetly  faced  the 
experiences  of  these  closing  days,  and  went  to 
sleep  in  God. 

From  that  sleep  we  believe  there  is  the 
awakening  which  means  perfect  vision,  per- 
fect likeness  and  perfect  service. 

In  our  belief,  we  greet  this  hour  for  him 
with  the  trumpet-note  of  victory,  and  for  our- 
selves   with    a    strengthened    consecration    to 
earnest  and  Christlike  living. 
223 


ADDRESS   AT   MEMORIAL   SER- 
VICES FOR 

SEPTEMBER  27,   1908 

IN    THE    COLLEGE     MEMORIAL    CHAPEL 

LAKE  FOREST 

By  Professor  John  J.  Halsby,  LL.  D. 


ii'TTMiERE  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man 
I  fallen  this  day  in  Israel."  Such  was 
the  lament  of  that  man  of  might,  King 
David,  over  the  death  of  one  of  the  most  virile, 
most  commanding,  and  most  engaging  of  the 
heroes  of  three  thousand  years  ago.  The  cen- 
turies pass,  and  from  time  to  time  the  words 
become  once  more  appropriate,  as  one  who 
has  been  a  leader  in  thought  or  in  action  goes 
from  us.  With  especial  appropriateness  the 
words  filled  the  thought  of  many  the  other 
day  when  we  laid  to  rest  a  pioneer  of  Lake 
Forest,  of  Chicago,  and  of  the  Northwest. 
Many  words  of  appreciation  have  already  been 
spoken,  by  the  churches  and  by  the  press,  in 
honor  of  the  career  of  John  V.  Farwell,  the 
veteran  of  fourscore  and  more  years  whose 
erect  and  commanding  form  beneath  its  snowy 
crown  of  youthful  age  was  so  recently  a  fa- 
miliar sight  to  each  one  of  us.  My  personal 
225 


^omc  iHecoIIecticm^  of 


call  is  to  note  for  you  a  few  salient  features  of 
the  man,  as  I  have  caught  them  in  an  affec- 
tionate intimacy  bounded  by  the  years  of  his 
old  age,  and  to  suggest  therefrom  what  he 
taught  those  who  knew  him  best. 

One  noted  almost  at  first  glance  that  one 
corner-stone  of  his  character  was  temperance. 
No  one  could  face  that  stalwart  form,  that  in- 
cisive gaze,  and  that  embodied  emphasis  of  all 
abounding  vitality,  without  realizing  that  Mr. 
Farwell  had  always  lived  a  clean  and  a  whole- 
some life,  that  all  his  powers  of  body,  as  of 
mind,  had  been  handled  by  him  as  a  gift  from 
his  Maker,  to  be  conserved  and  yet  used  as  a 
trust  for  the  world  in  which  he  lived.  A  sane 
mind  in  a  soufid  body  is  the  epitome  of  his 
whole  life,  and  in  it  there  is  a  message  of  in- 
spiration for  every  young  man  or  young  woman 
who  knew  him  or  who  shall  hear  of  him. 
So,  at  a  period  of  life  when  to  too  many,  alas  ! 
it  is  true  that  the  evil  days  come  and  the  years 
have  drawn  nigh  when  they  must  say  "I  have 
no  pleasure  in  them, "  his  unimpaired  mind 
produced  that  crown  of  his  fourscore  years 
which  the  press  so  recently  gave  us  in  "Corner- 
stones of  Character." 

For  him  a  second  essential  characteristic 
was  industry.  The  son  of  the  farm  and  of  the 
plough,  he  brought  thence  not  only  the  splen- 
did physique  and  the  robust  health  which  so 
marked  him,  but  also  a  spirit  of  work,  which 
soon  made  him  a  master  of  business  process, 
226 


S^ol)n  "B.  f  artpeil 


and  a  commander  of  men.  His  name  and  his 
life  were  for  two  generations  so  involved  in 
the  upbuilding  and  progress  of  industrial  Chi- 
cago that  no  one  can  be  mentioned  who  out- 
ranks him  in  this  respect.  This  feature  of  his 
character  is  so  obvious  that  it  needs  but  to  be 
mentioned,  but  in  it  lies  a  splendid  incentive  to 
those  who  are  coming  after,  and  to  whom  Mr. 
Farwell's  business  distinction  is  continually 
preaching  the  gospel  of  work. 

Yet  this  is  the  characteristic  of  the  man  of 
which  we  may  to-day  be  least  regardful.  Had 
his  career  been  arrested  there,  it  were  easy  to 
reproduce  its  lessons  from  scores  of  lives  fa- 
miliar to  those  who  have  known  the  men  of 
Chicago  in  the  period  since  the  civil  war.  In- 
dustry, devotion  and  almost  herculean  powers 
combined,  can  be  found  so  often  as  to  become 
commonplace.  But  Mr.  Farwell  was  all  his 
life  long  lifted  out  of  the  realm  of  the  common- 
place by  his  third  characteristic.  He  idealized 
life,  and  thereby  brought  it  into  the  realm  of 
the  spiritual.  His  first  ideal  was  the  home,  and 
he  made  his  a  place  of  hallowed  relationships 
and  of  inspiring  associations,  as  is  witnessed 
to-day  in  the  beautiful  homes  all  around  us 
which  have  come  out  of  his.  His  next  ideal 
was  the  uplifting  and  perfecting  of  young 
manhood  throughout  the  land,  and  a  half  cen- 
tury of  life  for  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  is  full  of  the  gifts  and  the  personal 
labors  of  this  inspiring  man.  Had  he  been  a 
227 


^ome  iSecoHection^  of 


half-hearted  ideahst  he  might  have  rested  con- 
tent with  the  gifts  from  his  material  treasure, 
but  he  gave  hi?tiself.  More  than  once  in  the 
last  ten  years  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  lecturer  who  trav- 
els widely,  on  returning  from  some  trip,  has 
expressed  to  me  his  surprise  at  finding  Mr. 
Farwell  in  some  far  distant  town,  catching 
with  him  an  early  train  or  eating  at  a  railway 
lunch-counter  while  en  route  to  or  from  some 
errand  for  the  promotion  of  the  beloved  work. 
The  man  who  adds  some  avocation  to  his  life's 
vocation  is  a  wise  man,  if  his  avocation  be  no 
more  than  a  hobby,  for  therein  he  finds  the 
relaxation  and  salvation  from  a  business  that 
might  otherwise  overmaster  and  destroy  him. 
Mr.  Farwell's  avocation  for  a  life  time  was 
the  work  for  young  men,  and  his  monument 
of  glory  is  there. 

One  more  trait,  however,  is  the  culmination 
of  the  man,  and  that  was  aspiration.  To  those 
who  knew  him  only  casually  or  superficially 
Mr.  Farwell  was  such  an  incarnation  of  energy 
and  of  action,  that  to  them,  I  suspect,  his 
life  seemed  an  objective  one,  absorbed  in  and 
summed  up  in  the  things  that  he  did.  But  to 
me  the  subjective  life  of  this  veteran  master 
of  men  and  of  affairs  was  the  supreme  part  of 
him,  as  I  think  it  was  to  his  own  conscious- 
ness. His  accomplishment  of  many  remark- 
able things  was  talked  of  by  others,  not  by 
himself.  Those  who  shared  his  meditations 
in  these  later  years  know  that  he  thought  on 
228 


S^otjit  W,  farttjcll 


quite  diiferent  things.  His  words  in  the 
church  prayer-meetings,  either  in  address  or 
in  prayer,  were  to  me,  for  thirty  years,  the 
measure  of  the  man.  Those  who  are  famihar 
with  the  thought  and  language  of  midweek 
prayer-meetings  know  that,  as  men  gain  flu- 
ency, even  the  prayers  too  often  tend  to  become 
hortatory  and  didactic.  I  have  never  known 
any  one  whose  words,  over  a  long  period  of 
years,  so  thoroughly  escaped  that  somewhat 
unedifying  form  of  worship.  His  prayer  was 
for  himself,  and  therefore  helped  others.  Its 
dominant  strains  were  confession  and  aspira- 
tion. As  one  heard  this  man,  distinguished  in 
two  hemispheres  for  his  success  in  business 
life  and  for  his  large  service  to  the  cause  of 
young  manhood, —  one  understood  that  this 
''prince  in  Israel  "  fought  his  own  stern  battle 
with  his  own  soul  daily,  seeking  to  rise  on  his 
dead  self  to  higher  things,  and  that  his  quest 
of  the  spiritual  was,  after  all,  to  him  the  su- 
preme business  of  life.  That  he  had  the  vision 
of  God,  his  irradiated  face  often  bore  witness, 
and  then  the  benediction  fell  on  those  about 
him.  His  faith  in  God,  his  love  for  Jesus 
Christ,  his  confession  of  his  own  failures  to 
attain,  his  confident  yet  pleading  aspiration, 
finally  his  humble  yet  serene  acceptance,  made 
up  a  simple  yet  commanding  and  triumphant 
type  of  worship. 

The  superb  temperance,  the  great  achieve- 
ment, the  large  vision,  of  this  completed  Hfe  are 
229 


^ome  iSetolIection^  of 


calling  to  us  from  the  past,  each  with  its  sug- 
gestion and  its  lesson  for  our  own  lives.  But 
beyond  all  that,  the  soul  life  of  this  one  who 
struggled  valiantly  and  successfully  for  the 
peace  of  God  is  speaking  to  each  one  of  us 
to-day,  and  calling  us  to  set  ever  before  our 
faces  the  upward  way,  from  the  things  that 
perish  to  things  spiritual  and  abiding  — 

Heaven  is  not  reached  at  a  single  bound, 
But  we  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  climb 
From  the  lowly  earth  to  the  vaulted  skies. 
And  we  mount  to  the  summit  round  by  round. 

Now,  at  length,  the  highest  round  has  been 
reached,  and  by  it  he  has  ascended  into  the 
presence  of  God.  It  is  for  us  to  take  the  les- 
sons this  life  has  taught  us,  and  pass  them  on 
to  those  who  come  after. 


230 


F 

mm 


/O 


\V 


